the door swings both ways
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
A situation can have a reciprocal effect on both parties involved.
Literally: a door that swings in both directions
Examples
His decision to quit will affect not just him, but also the company, because the door swings both ways.
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed on English Wikiquote “English proverbs” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31). Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “the door swings both ways” mean?
A situation can have a reciprocal effect on both parties involved. Literally: a door that swings in both directions
Is “the door swings both ways” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.