right foot foremost
Preserved but no longer current.
It is still considered un- lucky to enter a house, or even a room, on the left foot, and in ancient Rome a boy was stationed at the door of a mansion to caution visitors not to cross the threshold with their left foot, which would have been an ill omen.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “right foot foremost” mean?
It is still considered un- lucky to enter a house, or even a room, on the left foot, and in ancient Rome a boy was stationed at the door of a mansion to caution visitors not to cross the threshold with their left foot, which would have been an ill omen.
Is “right foot foremost” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.