wrong side of the blanket, born on the

born on the wrong side of the blanket

Born to parents who were not married. His parents eventually married, but that boy was born on the wrong side of the blanket.

See also: blanket, born, of, on, side, wrong

wrong side of the blanket

Referring to being born to parents who were not married. Used in the phrase "born on the wrong side of the blanket." His parents eventually married, but that boy was born on the wrong side of the blanket.

See also: blanket, of, side, wrong

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

born on the wrong side of the blanket

Rur. [of a child] illegitimate. All his life, Edward felt that people looked down on him because he was born on the wrong side of the blanket. Just between you and me, I suspect Mrs. Potter's oldest child was born on the wrong side of the blanket.

See also: blanket, born, of, on, side, wrong

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

born on the wrong side of the blanket

illegitimate. dated

See also: blanket, born, of, on, side, wrong

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

wrong side of the blanket, born on the

Illegitimate. This term was current in the eighteenth century and may well be obsolete. Tobias Smollett used it in Humphry Clinker (1771): “My mother was an honest woman. I didn’t come in on the wrong side of the blanket.”

See also: born, of, on, side, wrong

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer

wrong side of the blanket

Illegitimacy. A child born out of wedlock was said to have been born on the wrong side of the blanket, as if being under the covers was a luxury to which only legitimate babies were entitled. Other obsolescent phrases for an illegitimate baby are “natural child” and “love child.”

See also: blanket, of, side, wrong

Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price Copyright © 2011 by Steven D. Price