A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

at the side of someone • on the side of someone
at the side of someone —(coll.) compared with another person:
She is quite clever at the side of other girls.
on the side of someone —giving support to smb. in a conflict,
etc.: Despite Callas’ harsh nature, she was always on the side
of her students.
at the side of something • on the side of some-
thing
at the side of something —situated or placed beside smth.:
He fancied he heard the tramp of a troop of horse at the side
of the wood.
on the side of something —
1
. = at the side of something: As I
was driving I passed the car on the side of the road again. This
time the lights were not on. 2. on the side surface of smth.:
The Stock Exchange waiter strikes three strokes with a mallet
on the side of a rostrum before making formal declaration. 3.
supporting smth.; in favor of smth.: Normally, and as a whole,
human law is on the side of divine order.
at the sight of someone • in the sight of someone
at the sight of someone —on seeing a person: Does running
away at the sight of the police give officers reason enough to
stop and search you on the street?
in the sight of someone —
1
. near enough to be seen by a per-
son: He was brutally killed in the sight of the townspeople. 2.
in a person’s opinion; as regarded by smb.: In the sight of the
world, they were a happily married couple.
at the start • to start with
at the start—(also: at the beginning ) initially; at first: At the
start he was merely an incompetent abroad, but being a man
of intelligence he adapted quickly.
to start with —(also: to begin with)
1
. as a first consideration;
most importantly: Kurosawa’s tale wasn’t all that original to
start with — it was lifted from Hammet’s Red Harvest. 2. = at
the start: To start with, she was both advising customers and
working on the counter but she quickly progressed to concen-
trate on providing advice.