on the sidelines
Meaning: Not taking an active part; left out.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “After the reorganization, she was left on the sidelines.”
Category: Daily Life
Origin: From sports, where substitutes and spectators stand along the lines at the side of the field. The figurative use is from the 20th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- Italian: mettere fuori combattimento — literally: to put out of combat
- French: Être mis sur la touche — literally: To be put on the touchline
More idioms — Daily Life
- at full tilt — At full speed or with full force.
- my bad — My mistake; sorry.
- drive someone up the wall — To annoy someone intensely.
- right up one's alley — Exactly suited to someone's interests or skills.
- have the luck of the devil — To be extraordinarily lucky.
- take a hike — Go away; get lost.
More English idioms
- a stab in the back — A betrayal by someone one trusted.
- the light at the end of the tunnel — A sign that a long, difficult period is ending.
- freeze one's butt off — To be extremely cold.
- be in clover — To live in comfort and luxury.
- go downhill — To get steadily worse.
- hightail it — To leave in a great hurry.
From our tongue twisters
- She sells seashells by the seashore. — The definitive 's' versus 'sh' alternation — the tongue has to switch place of articulati…
- Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. — A relentless 'p' plosive drill; a peck is an old dry measure of about nine litres.
- Unique New York. — Three words that jam the 'y/n/k' sequence together — repeat it and it collapses into 'you…