get out of bed on the wrong side
get out of bed on the wrong side (idiom)
/ɡet aʊt əv bed ɒn ðə rɔŋ saɪd/
Synopsis
The idiom “get out of bed on the wrong side” is used to describe someone who wakes up in a bad mood and remains irritable throughout the day. The expression suggests that the day has somehow gone wrong from the very beginning. Although the phrase sounds humorous today, its roots are tied to old superstitions that once carried serious meaning.
Variants
- get out of the wrong side of the bed
- wake up on the wrong side of the bed
- wake up on the wrong side
- gotten out of bed on the wrong side
Meanings
- To be unusually angry, rude, or irritated from the beginning of the day.
- To behave in a negative or bad-tempered way for no obvious reason.
- To wake up feeling unhappy, grumpy, or annoyed.
- To stay in a foul mood throughout the day.
Synonyms: be in a bad mood; wake up grumpy; be out of sorts; be cranky; be irritable; be grouchy.
Example Sentences
- Michael yelled at his coworkers over small mistakes, as if he had gotten out of bed on the wrong side this morning.
- Sarah complained about everything during breakfast because she seemed to have gotten out of bed on the wrong side.
- After sleeping badly all night, Daniel clearly got out of bed on the wrong side and stayed upset all day.
- The coach was unusually impatient at practice, looking like he had gotten out of bed on the wrong side.
Etymology and Origin
Ancient Beliefs About the “Wrong” Side
One of the oldest theories connected to the phrase comes from ancient Roman and European superstition. In many early cultures, the left side was considered unlucky or sinister, while the right side represented safety, order, and good fortune. The Latin word sinister originally meant “left,” and over time it also developed the meaning “evil” or “unlucky.”
Because of these beliefs, people were often encouraged to step out of bed with the right foot first. Rising from the left side of the bed was thought to invite misfortune, quarrels, or a generally unpleasant day. This idea was not limited to beds alone. Similar customs existed for entering buildings, beginning journeys, and even putting on shoes.
The Superstition Slowly Became Figurative
Over time, the literal superstition faded, but the expression survived as a figurative saying. By the nineteenth century, English speakers were no longer seriously worried about evil luck caused by stepping from the wrong side of the bed. Instead, the phrase had become a colorful way to explain bad temper or unusual irritability.
The idiom gradually shifted from a belief about luck into a comment about personality and mood. Someone acting rude, impatient, or grumpy could simply be asked whether they had “gotten out of bed on the wrong side.”
The Phrase Appeared in England
The expression is generally considered to have developed in England. Early printed examples appear in British literature and regional language records during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The wording varied slightly at first, including forms such as “got up on the wrong side” and “got out of bed the wrong side,” before settling into the modern version known today.
The phrase became especially common in British colloquial speech and later spread widely to American English and other English-speaking regions.
The Earliest Printed Record
The earliest known printed example currently traced appears in Marvellous Pleasant Love-Story by Elizabeth Wright, published in 1801. In that work, the phrase appeared in this form:
“You have got up on the wrong side, this morning, George.”
This early citation already shows the figurative meaning clearly. The speaker is not discussing literal movement from a bed, but George’s unpleasant mood.
Nineteenth-Century Usage Expanded the Expression
As the nineteenth century progressed, the idiom appeared more frequently in books and regional dictionaries. A notable example appeared in A Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words by James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps in 1846. The entry explained:
“The phrase of getting out the wrong side of the bed is applied to a person who is peevish and ill tempered.”
Later literary examples continued to reinforce the same meaning. In Henry Kingsley’s Silcote of Silcotes (1867), the phrase appeared as:
“Miss had got out of bed the wrong side.”
These records show that by the Victorian era the expression was already well established in everyday speech.
A Curious Link to Earlier “Wrong Side” Expressions
Language historians have also noticed that the phrase “wrong side” existed in English long before the bed idiom itself appeared. During the seventeenth century, English speakers sometimes used “the wrong side of” to mean “beyond” or “past,” especially regarding age. Someone “on the wrong side of forty” meant older than forty.
This older wording may have helped shape the rhythm and familiarity of the later idiom, although the bad-temper meaning specifically connected with beds does not appear clearly in print until the early 1800s.
Fun Facts and Cultural Curiosities
One interesting aspect of the idiom is how many cultures historically distrusted the left side. In medieval Europe, the left hand was associated with clumsiness, bad luck, or even dark spiritual forces. This explains why many older traditions encouraged beginning important actions with the right foot.
Another curious detail is that the phrase remains surprisingly visual. Even today, people instinctively understand the image of someone stumbling into the day already annoyed and frustrated. That vivid everyday picture may be one reason the idiom has survived for more than two centuries.
The expression has also inspired book titles, cartoons, television dialogue, and newspaper humor because it instantly communicates a universal human experience — waking up feeling irritated for no clear reason.
A Phrase That Outlived the Superstition
Today, almost nobody believes that stepping out of bed from a certain side can truly ruin the day. Yet the idiom continues to thrive because it captures human behavior so perfectly. It transforms an ordinary morning mood into a memorable image, blending ancient superstition with modern humor.
What began as a genuine fear of bad luck eventually evolved into one of the English language’s most recognizable expressions for irritability and emotional frustration.
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