on the side of the angels
on the side of the angels
Behaving in a kind or charitable way, or supporting such actions. With war tearing the country apart, being on the side of the angels can cost you your life.
See also: angel, of, on, side
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
on the side of the angels
Supporting the good side, as in Whatever you may think of him, on important issues he's usually on the side of the angels . This expression was coined by Benjamin Disraeli in 1864 in a speech about Darwin's theory that man is descended from apes: "The question is this: Is man an ape or an angel? Now I am on the side of the angels." Before long it was extended to broader use, specifically to the moral view.
See also: angel, of, on, side
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
on the side of the angels
If someone is on the side of the angels, they are doing or supporting what is morally right. The President's on the side of the angels when it comes to racial tolerance and the environment.
See also: angel, of, on, side
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
on the side of the angels
on the side of what is right.In a speech in Oxford in November 1864 the British statesman Benjamin Disraeli alluded to the controversy over the origins of humankind then raging in the wake of the publication of Charles Darwin 's On the Origin of Species ( 1859 ): ‘Is man an ape or an angel? Now I am on the side of the angels’ (The Times 26 Nov. 1864 ).
See also: angel, of, on, side
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
- tearing
- hurry
- on the same wavelength
- be riding for a fall
- change (one's) ways
- change your ways
- mend (one's) ways
- mend one's ways
- mend ways
- mend your ways