Meaning
- the opposite aspect, contrasting arguments.
- to look differently at a situation.
- a person should look at a person, circumstance, or thing from an opposing view.
- there is usually more than one side to a story, situation, or matter.
- can also be taken figuratively and literally.
Example Sentences
- You should consider the other side of the coin when a wife leaves her husband and not just blame her for walking out on him.
- We know that our football team has not been performing well. On the other side of the coin, we are improving with every game we play.
- Look, I know that there are always two points of view on a legal matter. On the other side of the coin, we should believe a person when they make an accusation against another individual in a court of law.
- The other side of the coin is that fewer working hours will get you a lower income.
Origin
The metaphor " the other side of the coin " has been in use for about 500 years. In the past, military men would say "on the other side of the shield (or medal)" to show that a thing or situation had two different sides. Remember, shields and medals typically have two different sides, though they are part of the same object. A famous early 20th-century writer named W. B. Yeats wrote the phrase "are the other side of the half-penny" in a popular letter from that era. These two expressions eventually evolved into "the other side of the coin."