right side of the tracks

Idioms  

1. The desirable part of town, as in They were relieved to learn that his fiancée came from the right side of the tracks. This expression alludes to the fact that when a railroad ran through a town, it often divided the prosperous neighborhoods from the poor ones. The latter district was called the wrong side of the tracks, as in The children from the wrong side of the tracks often came to school without having eaten breakfast. Today these terms are considered snobbish. [Second half of 1800s]

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Example Sentences

In the ’50s we had James Dean in “Rebel Without a Cause” and Marlon Brando in “The Wild One,” rumbling with switchblades and getting their scrapes kissed by lovers who had stepped over from the right side of the tracks to scuff their saddle shoes for a little adventure.

From Salon

In the '50s we had James Dean in "Rebel Without a Cause" and Marlon Brando in "The Wild One," rumbling with switchblades and getting their scrapes kissed by lovers who had stepped over from the right side of the tracks to scuff their saddle shoes for a little adventure.

From Salon

“The right side of the tracks,” he said with perhaps a tinge of sarcasm.

From New York Times

The family was wealthy; Davis liked to say that she had been born on the wrong side of the Atlantic Ocean but on “the very right side of the tracks.”

From Seattle Times

The family was wealthy; Ms. Davis liked to say that she had been born on the wrong side of the Atlantic Ocean but on “the very right side of the tracks.”

From New York Times