on the side

on the side

1. Separate from the main course of a meal.
   • 1945 June 4, Robert De Roos, “San Francisco Chef”, in Life, page 56:

     Shish kebab is skewered lamb with rice on the side.

   • 2004, Frédéric Couton, The Cannery Seafood House Cookbook, →ISBN, page 77:

     Stir sage and the remaining unsalted butter into the sauce and serve it in a bowl on the side.

2. Supplementary or in addition to one's usual job or income.
   • 1979 November, “Beef up your job to beat inflation”, in Kipplinger's Personal Finance‎, page 10:

     You don't want to jeopardize your primary source of income or any savings you've socked away in your effort to boost your earnings on the side.

   • December 2020, Tim Folger, “North America’s most valuable resource is at risk”, in National Geographic‎:

     Borg has graying black hair and is trimly built, fit from a lifetime of hard work maintaining gas pipelines while trapping on the side.

3. Additional, surreptitious; often with a connotation of dishonesty, illegality or adultery.
   • 2009, Carl Weber, Up to No Good, →ISBN, page 158:

     I shouted to make sure she knew that I wasn't just some ho on the side. If anyone was on the side, it was her.

• bit on the side
• err on the side of
• guide on the side

Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.