wrong side of the tracks

Originated from municipalities where the sections were divided by railway tracks.

• "He grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, but he made a success of himself."
• "An arc electric light has been put toward the north side of the depot, […] As one gentleman expressed it, the people can more quickly see that they are on the "wrong side of the track.""
• "“Can you come over to the wrong side of the tracks?” she asked, an amused dryness underscoring the delivery of that question. “Always.” “I was, of course, referring to geographical matters. You live in the more chic part of Kreuzberg.”"
• "Mr. McKenzie rose to prominence in the early 2000s playing Ryan Atwood, a brooding, musclebound teenager from the wrong side of the tracks who moves in with a wealthy family in Newport Beach, Calif."

• other side of the tracks
• wrong side of town

• get up on the wrong side of the bed