on the side of the angels

Idioms  

1. 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.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

on the side of the angels

In this particular, however, he’s on the side of the angels.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2021

For a time, all but the 147 seemed on the side of the angels, and corporations jostled to get on board with their pro-democracy pledges.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 4, 2021

She knows that not everyone who uses her tools is on the side of the angels, but she’s talked herself into a self-conception as a moral actor.

From Slate ● Oct. 13, 2020

Perhaps we’re meant to think of him as on the side of the angels — the forces of progress — while feeling relief that he isn’t morally threatening.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 14, 2018

The men with whom he associated did not help him to be on the side of the angels, rather they appealed to what was coarse and debased in his nature.

From Tommy by Joseph Hocking