exit stage left
an idiomatic expression with both literal and figurative meanings:

- an actor should leave the stage from their left side (stage directions in theater scripts)

- an orderly and uneventful departure, timed to not attract attention or cause disruption (leaving a situation quietly without making a scene)

- making a quick, well-timed exit to avoid unwanted attention or confrontation

- disappearing from a place or situation to allow more interesting events to unfold

- used as an imperative to tell someone to leave quickly or without fuss

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PHRASE ORIGIN

While it began as a literal stage direction, the phrase gained wider cultural usage, particularly through its frequent use in the Hanna-Barbera cartoon "Snagglepuss" in the 1960s. The character would often say, "Exit, stage left!" (or sometimes "stage right") before quickly departing a scene.

Today, the phrase is often used metaphorically to mean a hasty departure or retreat from any situation, not just on stage.

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WHY LEFT IS USUALLY RIGHT!

Did you know that 66-72% of human beings have a tendency to cradle babies on the left side of their own bodies, irrespective of their handedness and gender? Most individuals have a preference to turn their heads to the right side of their bodies when kissing. And when extracting social information from others' faces, like their emotional state, observers make more use of clues from their left-sided space (the right half the observed face).

Interestingly, this tendency to “look left” is associated most strongly with right-handers, on the other hand (pun intended), most left-handers focus on the other side and look right.

The research and literature on this subject is absolutely fascinating,… and knowledge about left- or right-side bias has practical, real-world applications: for driving and traffic management, product positioning in stores, public speaking, message and website design, and,... pivoting to today’s OWAD, to theatre and dramatic performances.

As most audience members are probably right-handers (with a tendency to favour the left stage side), then an actor “exiting stage left” (from the actor’s viewpoint) will be less noticed, and thus be less distracting for most of the audience. This also explains why actors invariably entrance from the left stage side (from the audience’s viewpoint).

FUN TAKE-AWAY

When winking at someone, which eye do you momentarily close?… For greater effect, try winking at right-handers with your right eye, and left-handers with your left!

Paul & Helga Smith

Sources:
- Yue Zhang, et al., Fear-specific leftward bias in gaze direction judgment — Nature (2021).

- Jason G. Goldman, Evolution: Why are most of us right-handed? — BBC (16th December 2014).

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SYNONYMS

adios, arrivederci, au revoir, be seeing you, better bounce (get going, hit the road, make tracks, motor, run), bye for now, catch you later, catch you on the flip side, cheerio, ciao, g2g, gotta bolt (bounce, dash, fly, jet, run, scoot, split), hasta la vista, have a good one, I gotta head out (hit the road, roll, post haste, pronto, skedaddle), I’ll EXIT STAGE LEFT, I’m off (outta here), I’ve gotta jet (take off), it's time to make tracks (to run), later gator, lemme bounce, must be off (dash, fly), sayonara, see ya, ta-ta, take it easy, time to bail (hit the road, roll), toodle-loo, time to go

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“My goodness, is that really how late it is? I need to EXIT STAGE LEFT.”

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