on the wrong side of the law

idiom

—used to say that someone is living the life of a criminal

He has been on the wrong side of the law since he was 17.

Examples of on the wrong side of the law in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Giacomo Casanova, who lived from 1725 to 1798, was a lawyer, a writer, an adventurer, a gambler and a scoundrel who found himself on the wrong side of the law. —Ray Mark Rinaldi, The Denver Post, 20 Jan. 2025

With almost no oversight from citizens, watchdogs or, apart from a few high-profile examples, the press — township officials have repeatedly found themselves on the wrong side of the law. —Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 27 Oct. 2024

In many parts of Malaysia, Muslims caught eating or drinking during daytime hours can find themselves on the wrong side of the law. —Heather Chen, CNN, 8 Apr. 2024

The Bad Boys movies follow Smith, 55, and Lawrence, 58, as a pair of detectives working for the Miami Police Department; but instead of fending off baddies as usual, the latest installment sees the duo fighting for survival on the wrong side of the law. —Shania Russell, EW.com, 26 Mar. 2024

An unexpected fracas at the town's school board meeting puts Dot on the wrong side of the law, and soon her past — personified by steely South Dakota Sheriff Roy Tillman (Jon Hamm) — is back with a literal vengeance. —Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 19 Sep. 2023

But most of those who find themselves on the wrong side of the law are not from the Golden City, police say. —Hannah Ray Lambert, Fox News, 28 July 2023

Not since Merle Haggard and Johnny Paycheck has mainstream country music seen an artist who’s sung about being on the wrong side of the law or its consequences, let alone done time there. —Holly Gleason, Variety, 2 June 2023

By then, the federal government had started enforcing anti-paraphernalia laws, which targeted bongs and pot pipes but not rolling paper, and Levin saw his friends and peers in the industry on the wrong side of the law. —Will Yakowicz, Forbes, 20 Apr. 2023

Rhymes for on the wrong side of the law

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