the shoe is on the other foot

English

Alternative forms

• the boot is on the other foot

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Phrase

the shoe is on the other foot

1. (idiomatic) The roles of people in a situation have been reversed, such that the advantage has shifted to a party which was previously disadvantaged.
   • 1919, Ring Lardner, chapter 1, in The Real Dope:

     Some of the birds on this ship took me for a sucker and tried to make a rummy out of me but I was wise to their game and I guess the shoe is on the other foot this time.

Synonyms

• the tables are turned

Related terms

• walk a mile in someone's shoes
• which foot the shoe is on

Translations

the roles have been reversed

• Hungarian: fordul a kocka
• Icelandic: komið annað hljóð í strokkinn
• Italian: essere dall'altra parte della barricata
• Polish: role się odwróciły
• Russian: ситуация изменилась на противоположенную (situacija izmenilasʹ na protivopoložennuju)

See also

• taste of one's own medicine