distaff side
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of distaff side
First recorded in 1885–90
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
On the distaff side, Claire Messud gives us “The Burning Girl,” a kind of teen companion to “The Woman Upstairs,” her 2013 masterpiece about adult female friendship.
From Washington Post • Aug. 22, 2017
More details from the WSJ/NBC News poll: Another poll, from Fox News, finds Mrs. Clinton on the distaff side of a “gender gap” among Democrats—and quite a gap it is.
From The Wall Street Journal • Aug. 4, 2015
On the distaff side, last year’s winner, Mary Cain, returns to defend her crown.
From Newsweek • Feb. 13, 2015
At the moment several new factors are combining to favour the distaff side more.
From Economist • Jul. 7, 2011
The late owner of the "Hundred" did not even bear the family patronymic, his Hildebrand descent being on the distaff side.
From In Jeopardy by Sutphen, Van Tassel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
