from the wrong side of the tracks

from the wrong side of the tracks

From a part of a town or city that is particularly impoverished (and usually dangerous or undesirable as a result). I was always looked down on as a kid because I was from the wrong side of the tracks. His mother didn't want him dating anyone from the wrong side of the tracks.
See also: of, side, track, wrong
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

from the wrong side of the tracks

If someone comes from the wrong side of the tracks, they come from a poor or unfashionable area of town. I know kids back home who come from the wrong side of the tracks. When they go to school, they haven't eaten and their clothes are all torn. Note: Railway tracks sometimes mark boundaries between different parts of a town, for example between richer and poorer areas.
See also: of, side, track, wrong
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

from/on the ˌwrong side of the ˈtracks

(informal) from or living in a poor area or part of town: She married a man from the wrong side of the tracks.
See also: of, on, side, track, wrong
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • from/on the wrong side of the tracks
  • on the wrong side of the tracks
  • other side of the tracks
  • side of the tracks
  • the other side of the tracks
  • the wrong side of the tracks
  • wrong side of the tracks
  • wrong side of the tracks, the
  • ghetto
  • ghetto bird
References in periodicals archive
Jersey Boys tells the true story of four boys from the wrong side of the tracks who wrote their own songs, invented their own unique sound and sold 175 million records worldwide.
film Lady Bird Christine "Lady Bird" MacPherson is a high school senior from the wrong side of the tracks. She longs for adventure, sophistication, and opportunity, but finds none of that in her Sacramento Catholic high school.
Ivy and Dogg turn the stereotypes of established high school tropes -- the popular kid and the kid from the wrong side of the tracks, the athlete and the nerd -- inside out.
THEATRE Jersey Boys This Olivier Award-winning musical tells the true life story of four boys from the wrong side of the tracks who sold over four million record worldwide as The Four Seasons.
It is peak Las Vegas, peak sporting showbiz, peak ragsto-riches stuff, with two men from the wrong side of the tracks earning untold riches from their set-to.
Her death and the mass hysteria that followed it show why the power-dressing girl from the wrong side of the tracks captured Argentinian hearts.
Most of society blames the destruction on withdrawal symptoms, but five previously medicated teens from the wrong side of the tracks decide to take matters into their own hands.
It tells the true story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and their rise to stardom from the wrong side of the tracks.
Following their rise to stardom from the wrong side of the tracks, these four boys from New Jersey became one of the most successful bands in pop history.
It's the true story of four boys from the wrong side of the tracks who became Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and sold 175 million records.
Discover how four New Jersey boys from the wrong side of the tracks invented their own sound, wrote their own songs, and became one of the biggest pop sensations of all time, taking the world by storm, all before the age of 30.
For the uninitiated, Jersey Boys tells the remarkable true story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and their rise to stardom from the wrong side of the tracks.
"In my own small way I have been something of a role model for kids from the wrong side of the tracks."
arrived to carry me off from the wrong side of the tracks. Measure the
We're jogging in familiar territory here, following a talented 200m sprinter from the wrong side of the tracks, whose raw talent propels her into the British relay squad where she clashes with the team's privileged golden girl.