on the side

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English

Prepositional phrase

on the side

  1. Separate from the main course of a meal.
    • 1945 June 4, Robert De Roos, “San Francisco Chef”, in Life, page 56:
      Shish kebab is skewered lamb with rice on the side.
    • 2004, Frédéric Couton, The Cannery Seafood House Cookbook, →ISBN, page 77:
      Stir sage and the remaining unsalted butter into the sauce and serve it in a bowl on the side.
  2. Supplementary or in addition to one's usual job or income.
    • 1979 November, “Beef up your job to beat inflation”, in Kipplinger's Personal Finance, page 10:
      You don't want to jeopardize your primary source of income or any savings you've socked away in your effort to boost your earnings on the side.
    • December 2020, Tim Folger, “North America’s most valuable resource is at risk”, in National Geographic:
      Borg has graying black hair and is trimly built, fit from a lifetime of hard work maintaining gas pipelines while trapping on the side.
  3. Additional, surreptitious; often with a connotation of dishonesty, illegality or adultery.
    • 2009, Carl Weber, Up to No Good, →ISBN, page 158:
      I shouted to make sure she knew that I wasn't just some ho on the side. If anyone was on the side, it was her.

Derived terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

References

James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “On the side”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC.