on the wrong side of the tracks —(also: on the other side of the tracks) in the less respectable or the poorer part of a town:
- We went to a school which was on the wrong side of the tracks, and we all got a fine education.
Note: The expression is not antonymous in meaning to the phrase on the right side of the hedge—on the advantageous or winning side:
- The French thought themselves on the right side of the hedge, but it proved otherwise.
on the wrong track—(also: on the wrong tack) thinking or acting incorrectly:
- They won’t get it figured out because they are on the wrong track.