Starting off on the Right Foot

Good Morning

Today started out on the right foot. I woke up before my alarm to a beautiful sunny day. When I turned on my computer, I saw that a friend was using some of the photos I took and that made me feel proud. When I went to work, someone had bought donuts for the office and there was a milk tea waiting on my desk. One of my coworkers knows I like them, and she gave me her 1+1 (buy one get one free) extra bottle.

Meaning

Starting out on the right foot is a good start to something. It can be the good start to a period of time, an activity, or relationship. It can be used to talk about first impressions. We can also use this phrase to talk about a negative situation in a polite way. It downplays the severity of the negative situation. You could also use on the wrong foot as well.

Example: Our date started out on the right foot when he showed up on time with a flower for me.
Example: Look. This conversation started out on the wrong foot. Let’s start again from the beginning.

Origin

Starting out on the right foot shares a lot in common with putting your best foot forward and getting up on the wrong side of the bed. It is believed that the ancient Greeks thought the left foot was unlucky, negative, or dark. So, if you put your right foot first, you will have a better outcome. I have also seen the suggestion that there is a conflation between right (vs left) foot and right (vs wrong) foot. We also might be evolutionarily predisposed to right-handedness as approximately 9/10 of humans and 2/3 chimpanzees are right-handed. A preference for right-handedness can even be observed in utero. It may have even played a role in language formation.

Sprinting

Another theory is that soldiers were instructed to start marching with their right foot. This ensures that all the soldiers will march uniformly. If someone starts on the left (wrong) foot, they will not match the rest of the group. Starting off on the right foot can also help sprinters by reducing their start time by 80 milliseconds.

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Resources:

https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1001767
https://grammarist.com/idiom/on-the-wrong-foot-on-the-right-foot/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5917149_Starting_with_the_right_foot_minimizes_sprint_start_time
Eikenberry, Adam & Mcauliffe, Jim & Welsh, Timothy & Zerpa, Carlos & McPherson, Moira & Newhouse, Ian. (2008). Starting with the “right” foot minimizes sprint start time. Acta psychologica. 127. 495-500. 10.1016/j.actpsy.2007.09.002.