seamy side of life

seamy side of life

The more sordid, base, or unpleasant parts or aspects of life. She thought moving to inner-city New York would be a romantic adventure, but she wasn't prepared for the seamy side of life she found there. I certainly saw the seamier sides of life when I worked in the clinic downtown.
See also: life, of, seamy, side
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

seamy side of life

Kend> Fig. the most unpleasant or roughest aspect of life. (A reference to the inside of a garment where the seams show.) Doctors in that area really see the seamy side of life. Mary saw the seamy side of life when she worked as a volunteer in the homeless shelter.
See also: life, of, seamy, side
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • appear to
  • a change of heart
  • a mystery to (one)
  • be (like) a bird in a gilded cage
  • a piece of the action
  • a piece/slice of the action
  • be like a fish out of water
  • a fish out of water
  • bit of the action
  • a bit of the action
References in periodicals archive
Patience, now 55, reveals the seamy side of life as a top model in a tell-all book titled Where Do You Go To My Lovely - a nod to Peter Sarstedt's hit of the same name about a poor girl joining the jet set.
I arrived in London at 14 to be a Vogue model in a week a boy was dead on our sofa; TEEN'S TALES OF DRUGS, SEX DUNGEONS AND STARS IN THE 7Os
I'm sure the emotional impact will be highlighted by the direction of the coverage by Brillante Mendoza, the indie filmmaker who is best known for his obsession with squalor and the seamy side of life. So what can we expect from the Sona a la Duterte?
Change and intransigence at the Sona
You'll see so much of the seamy side of life that your spirit can get injured.
The most important profession
"But the campers and their Redcoat entertainers enjoyed the seamy side of life, too.
The dark side of Billy Butlin; EXCLUSIVE Holiday camp king carried a cut-throat razor for protection He used lure of sex among the chalets to pull in punters
The fear that this book has exercised over many reviewers is that of appearing prudish or unfamiliar with human degradation and the seamy side of life, and thus of being naive and unworthy of attention.
The Baroness Munchausen of sex
pics that deal with the seamy side of life in the big city, except that it's primarily a French production and it's not as interesting as most.
Apartment 5C
An exploration of female exploitation in Ten Cents a Dance, from Simple Simon, apparently the first time this seamy side of life had been explored on Broadway.
No risk, this show really is wonderful; OPERA Opera North The Lowry
The smash-hit series has won millions of fans around the world for the gritty way it portrays New York's seamy side of life.
NYPD Blue's Bobby is out of the picture; KILLED OFF: SIMONE DIES IN HOSPITAL AFTER HEART TRANSPLANT OP
NYPD Blue, as well, has received strong criticism for its use of naked bodies (some thrown in gratuitously) and its frank views of the seamy side of life. On the other hand, it often treats modern urban themes with a sharp and redeeming honesty and compassion rarely seen elsewhere on TV.
Let the V-chips Fall Where They May
His first book was The Dog Star (1950), a novel depicting the effect of a friend's suicide on a sensitive youth living on the seamy side of life. It was praised by E.M.
Windham, Donald (1920- )
But the Secret Lives spokes-man said: "The campers and the redcoats enjoyed the seamy side of life too and the man that built them carried a cut- throat razor."
BUTLIN'S BEDCOATS; Waitresses `on the game'
All Demi has to do to stuff the loot into the top of her fishnet stocking is to strip - and spill the beans on the seamy side of life in Florida.
Demi, your tease has gone cold; Her big strip show is barely worth a glance
But the Secret Lives spokesman said: "The campers and their redcoat entertainers enjoyed the seamy side of life too and the man that built them carried a cut- throat razor."
Butlin Billy's secret shame