Talk:sideways
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Latest comment: 4 years ago by Backinstadiums in topic knock somebody sideways
I'm feeling sideways today...but how do I explain to someone what sideways means in this situation? — This comment was unsigned.
- By using other words, more words. It is not obvious what it means when you use it that way. Only a good friend is likely to really understand what you mean and that would be because they can read you, not because of what you said. DCDuring TALK 15:14, 8 June 2009 (UTC)
- The above example is dialect, of course, and with sufficient context and/or familiarity with the vernacular it is possible to understand. However, the term is emerging in business and technical fields as a colloquial reference to unexpected adversity. 68.60.65.94 00:20, 6 November 2010 (UTC)

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Rfd-redundant: "askance, sidelong". Seems the same as the "towards one side" sense.—msh210℠ (talk) 16:40, 30 March 2011 (UTC)
- Speedy delete, please. --Pilcrow 16:54, 30 March 2011 (UTC)
- Whoa, Nelly. We lack the figurative sense of askance as a meaning of "sideways". Check OneLook for MWOnline's, AHD's, RHU's, and other views before jumping on senses. Our definitions often don't cover meanings very well compared to what professional lexicographers have. — This unsigned comment was added by DCDuring (talk • contribs) at 30 March 2011.
- Oh, is the figurative sense of askance what was meant here? That's... unclear. Perhaps it just needs a rewrite, then. (If such sense exists.)—msh210℠ (talk) 17:37, 30 March 2011 (UTC)
- I'm not sure that the literal sense of askance is even current. Encarta, for example, doesn't include it. DCDuring TALK 18:37, 30 March 2011 (UTC)
- google books:"glanced askance" gets a fair number of recent hits, most of which seem to be literal. —RuakhTALK 19:17, 30 March 2011 (UTC)
- ¶ Perhaps that etymology is required, firstly? --Pilcrow 18:42, 30 March 2011 (UTC)
- I'm not sure that the literal sense of askance is even current. Encarta, for example, doesn't include it. DCDuring TALK 18:37, 30 March 2011 (UTC)
- Oh, is the figurative sense of askance what was meant here? That's... unclear. Perhaps it just needs a rewrite, then. (If such sense exists.)—msh210℠ (talk) 17:37, 30 March 2011 (UTC)
- Whoa, Nelly. We lack the figurative sense of askance as a meaning of "sideways". Check OneLook for MWOnline's, AHD's, RHU's, and other views before jumping on senses. Our definitions often don't cover meanings very well compared to what professional lexicographers have. — This unsigned comment was added by DCDuring (talk • contribs) at 30 March 2011.
kept -- Liliana • 22:52, 18 February 2012 (UTC)
Is turn sideways an idiom? --Backinstadiums (talk) 10:24, 9 March 2020 (UTC)
(informal) to surprise or shock somebody so much that they are unable to react immediately --Backinstadiums (talk) 11:44, 19 February 2021 (UTC)