Of the aisle?

Posted by ESC on November 02, 2004

In Reply to: Of the aisle? posted by Jose Carlos on November 02, 2004

: Hello:

: Can anyone help me again with the following excerpt?

: >

: What I don't seem to understand clearly is the allusion to "the theory side of the aisle". Aisle in what sense? The audience? The subject?

: Thanks in advance.

: Jose Carlos

Opposite sides of the aisle in the following means different viewpoints:

"There are no easy answers to America's problems, and there is also not a lot of difference between the opposite sides of the aisle in Washington and the way they deal with those problems. Members of Congress from both parties work closely together and, more often than not, are a lot more bipartisan than they would appear at this time of the year."

And I think the figurative aisle has its origins in the literal church aisle: "...one of the two parts parallel to the nave, from which it is usually separated by a row of pillars." From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable.

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