other side of the tracks
the other side of the tracks
A part of a town or city that is particularly impoverished (and usually dangerous or undesirable as a result). "Tracks" refers to railroad tracks, which are sometimes thought of as demarcating different economic areas of a town. I was always looked down on as a kid because I grew up on the other side of the tracks. His mother didn't want him dating anyone from the other side of the tracks.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
other side of the tracks
and wrong side of the tracksthe poor part of a town or city. He was a rich boy, and she was a girl from the other side of the tracks. You don't want to buy a house in that neighborhood. It's on the wrong side of the tracks.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.