Word.ws English Dictionary

the shoe is on the other foot

the shoe is on the other foot phrase: the roles of people in a situation have been reversed, such that the advantage has shifted to a party which was previously disadvantaged.

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.
    • 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.1919, Ring Lardner, chapter 1, in The Real Dope
    Synonyms:
    the tables are turned

Synonyms of the shoe is on the other foot

  • the tables are turned

Forms of the shoe is on the other foot

alternative formthe boot is on the other foot

Questions about the shoe is on the other foot

What does the shoe is on the other foot mean?
The shoe is on the other foot means the roles of people in a situation have been reversed, such that the advantage has shifted to a party which was previously disadvantaged.
What part of speech is the shoe is on the other foot?
The shoe is on the other foot is a phrase.

Words near the shoe is on the other foot in the dictionary

  1. the shape of things to come
  2. the shirt off one's back
  3. the shit
  4. the shit out of
  5. the shits
  6. the shoe is on the other foot
  7. the shoemaker always wears the worst shoes
  8. the shoemaker's children go barefoot
  9. the shoemaker's son always goes barefoot
  10. the show must go on
  11. the sigma

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: the shoe is on the other foot (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-the shoe is on the other foot.ogg.

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