History Main / YourOtherLeft

* Similarly, a common misunderstanding in English arises when a yes/no question is asked using the negative form (e.g. "You don't want cake?"). Answering yes can either be taken to mean "I want cake" ''or'' "I agree with you, I ''don't'' want cake" (answering no produces the same problem except opposite). So people who end up in this linguistic trap would end up doing a lot "yes, um, no, um, yes?" fumbling until someone rephrases the question or provides a full sentence answer.

* Manga/DailyLifeWithMonsterGirl: When Miia is shedding and the last bit of the shed is by her crotch, she has to cover Kimihito's eyes to make him not see. When he is down to the last piece, he asked for directions and she told him to go right. She is referring to ''her'' right, which the author points out visually, but he assumed it's ''his'' right so he ended up inserting his finger into her vulva by accident. NeckSnap ensues.

* In ''Comicbook/SpiderHam: Aporkalypse Now'' #4, Spider-Ham keeps [[Film/AvengersEndgame telling Captain Americat to look to his left]], and Cap keeps saying there's nothing on his left.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In the ''Series/{{CSI}}'' episode "Alter Boys", Catherine tells a suspect to "Raise your right foot... No, your other right." Although, given the circumstances, he was probably in shock at the time.

* Similarly, a common misunderstanding in English arises when a yes/no question is asked using the negative form (e.g. "Don't you want cake?"). Answering yes can either be taken to mean "I want cake" ''or'' "I agree with you, I ''don't'' want cake" (answering no produces the same problem except opposite). So people who end up in this linguistic trap would end up doing a lot "yes, um, no, um, yes?" fumbling until someone rephrases the question or provides a full sentence answer.

* Phileas Fogg attempts to aid Passpertout during a fight scene in ''Film/AroundTheWorldInEightyDays2004''. "No, your other left!"

* In ''Comicbook/SpiderHam: Aporkalypse Now'' #4, Spider-Ham keeps telling Captain Americat to look to his left, and Cap keeps saying there's nothing on his left.

* In the climax of ''Comicbook/SpiderHam: Aporkalypse Now'', Spider-Ham keeps telling Captain Americat to look to his left, and Cap keeps saying there's nothing on his left.

* Also in ''Manga/DragonBall''; Kuririn and Chaozu are fighting, and Kuririn uses SuperSpeed to zip out of sight, leaving Chaozu shocked. Tenshinhan helpfully yells, "Your left!" from the sidelines, and Chaozu uses the hand you hold chopsticks in for reference and looks... just in time to get hit in the face.

* In Dodie Smith's ''Literature/TheHundredAndOneDalmatians'', Missis, who is not nearly as bright a dog as her mate Pongo, just can't seem to grasp the concept of right & left. This means some considerable anxiety for her, when she's on unfamiliar territory and trying to follow directions she's been given. Having been urged to associate "right" with the spot on her right front paw, she is only able to remember that her "right" paw is... er... one of her ''front'' paws.

* A common problem in the Catalan sport/tradition of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/castells castells]]. The usual motto of castellers is ''força, equilibri, valor i seny'' (strength, balance, courage, and good sense) but a colla (team) once released a tee-shirt with an alternate one: ''L'esquerra... no, l'altra esquerra!'' (the left... no, the other left!)

(''putt'')\\
'''Roger:''' (''glaring'') Next time, say "correct".\\

-->'''Sally''': TED, TURN RIGHT! I MEAN MY RIGHT! WAIT, WE'RE FACING THE SAME WAY! IT'S THE SAME RIGHT! '''WHY DO YOU KEEP TURNING LEFT?!'''

[[folder:Film — Animation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'', Django says “No, my other left!” when he and Emile attempt to free Remy from the trunk of [[BigBad Skinner’s]] car by dropping heavy objects on it.

-->'''Phil''': That's it. Dance around! Dance around! Watch the teeth! Watch the teeth! Keep going. Come on. Come on. Lead with your left! Lead with your left!'' (Hercules jumps away as the Hydra lunges to the ground.)'' Your other left!

'''Sadness:''' Right. (''Joy turns right'') No, I mean, go left. I said left was right, like, "correct".

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
* ''Film/TheMatrix'': When Neo is fleeing the Agents and taking directions from Tank over the phone.
** Although there's a [[LateToThePunchline hidden joke]] in this: Tank has just told Neo to turn left, to which Neo turns right. However, in that shot, Neo is facing the audience, so he's turning to the audience's left. When Tank yells "No, your other left!" the camera crosses the 180 line, and shows Neo from behind, where he changes direction and turns to both his and the audience's left. The camera then switches back to the original shot where Neo is facing the camera. He continues to go to his left, but because he is facing the camera, he appears to us to be moving to the right, thus the line is actually directed [[BreakingTheFourthWall at least partially at the audience]] and was included in the film as a quick joke of that variety too.

'''Professor Jones Sr.:''' (''glancing at his watch'') What happens at eleven o'clock?

-->'''Hartmann:''' (''smacks Pyle, hard'') What side is that, Private Pyle?\\
'''Pyle:''' (''obviously in pain'') Sir, left, sir!\\

(''starts right'')\\

(''beat'')\\

--> '''Bridge''': That's nine o'clock, Syd.

[[folder:Webcomics]]

-->'''Katara:''' Watch out! Go left! Go left! (''they crash'') You call that left?

* Taken totally straight in ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'', when Gwen is trying to ride on Ben [[AccidentalInnuendo (as Wildmutt)'s]] back when he's been rendered "blind" by a cold.

* In the ''[[WesternAnimation/DragonsRidersOfBerk Dragons: Race to the Edge]]'' story "Have Dragon Will Travel", the team looks for a rogue dragon rider.

(''for the record, they are facing the same direction at the time'')
* ''[[WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987 DuckTales]]'' once did a variation when Big Time tells Bouncer, who is driving their van, to "make a left," so he ''[[ExactWords instantly]]'' makes a left -- right through 2 buildings before finally landing in a fountain.

-->'''Sandy''': Land on your bottom! It'll help break the impact of the fall!\\
'''[=SpongeBob=]''': Like this? -takes off pants and points his butt down-\\
'''Patrick''': No your other bottom!\\
'''Sandy''': Don't you have to be stupid somewhere else?\\
'''Patrick''': Not until four.

* And theatre attempts to fix the problem the same way, by having an arbitrary viewpoint. "Left" and "right" area always assumed to be from the perspective of the one being directed, and often directors will have to use "stage left" or "stage right" to clarify this.
** French theatre uses ''côté cour'' ("courtyard side", stage left) and ''côté jardin'' ("garden side", stage right). It originated in the 18th century, when the Comédie-Française troupe performed in a theatre located between the Louvres courtyard and the Tuileries Garden.
* In Heraldry, the terms are Dexter (right) and Sinister (Left) They always apply to the shield as if it were being carried, making "Dexter" the viewer's left, and Sinister being the viewer's right.
** In many medieval recreation groups this is mostly averted by the use of "sword-side" and "shield-side" when giving instructions on the tourney or melee fields. It doesn't work so well for anyone left-handed.

* Happens countless times in ''Clockwise'', and is one of the reasons Cleese's character gets lost all the time. ("So I take the train on the left?" "Right!") The other reason is sheer pigheadedness.

** A recurring problem for Perceval; he can't ever tell right from left. He once called himself a "[[TheSouthpaw southpaw]]"... while drawing his sword with the right hand.

* When ''Disney/{{Bolt}}'' is learning to beg, Mittens tells him, "Drop your left ear. No, your other left. No, the first way was better."

* A variation occurs in ''Disney/TheEmperorsNewGroove'' when Kuzco and Pacha are back to back, trying to climb out of a chasm after a RopeBridge collapse; Kuzco complains when Pacha uses "his" left instead of Kuzco's left.
* In ''Disney/{{Hercules}}'', while Hercules is fighting the Hydra, Phil shouts this helpful advice from the sidelines.

* In ''Disney/BrotherBear'', as they're trying to escape Denahi, Kenai is carrying Koda through a geyser field and Koda shouts directions to try and avoid the geysers, "Left, left! No, no, the other left!"

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciIfcYwI6Ps Simon, sidestep to your left.]]

-->'''Phil''': That's it! Dance around! Dance around! Watch the teeth! Watch the teeth! Keep going. Come on. Come on. Lead with your left. Lead with your left. ''(Hercules jumps away at the wrong direction as the Hydra lunges to the ground.)'' Your other left!

* The French language has a solution to the problem of yes/no questions asked in negative forms in the word "si". For example the question "You're not going to come?" if answered with "si" would mean that you are not going to come.

'''Strong Bad:''' A single deuce... Deuce.\\

* ''WesternAnimation/QuestForCamelot'' uses the line while Garrett (who is blind) is driving a wagon to the stables as well as avoiding the fire and Ruber's mechanical army with Kayley shouting directions to him: "Left! Go left! [--Your other left...--] No, Garrett, ''right!''" In this case, it's Kayley confusing the directions and then correcting herself rather than Garrett mixing them up, but the effect is more or less the same.

* In ''Disney/{{Hercules}}'', while Hercules is fighting the Hydra, Phil shouts helpful advice from the sidelines.
-->'''Phil''': That's it! Dance around! Dance around! Watch the teeth! Watch the teeth! Keep going. Come on. Come on. Lead with your left. Lead with your left. ''(Hercules jumps away at the wrong direction as the Hydra lunges to the ground, resulting a brief CapeSnag from the Hydra's fangs in a split second)'' Your other left!

* There's a hilarious example in the Literature/NewJediOrder books, where Han and Chewie take part in a asteroid run race. The race ship has two sets of controls and they struggle to cooperate, leaving them screaming and bellowing - including the trope - at each other as they narrowly dodge asteroid after asteroid. To everyone watching however, they look like they're using the force because they're flying so well.

* In an episode of "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody," the Tipton Hotel staff and the main characters are shooting a commercial for the hotel, when London, the star, missteps and rams into one of the dancers.
-->'''Director:''' I said to go to your left.\\
'''London:''' I ''was'' going to my left.\\
'''Director:''' Then go to your ''other'' left.

* "Do I turn left?"/"Right" also occurs in ''Good Driving, Literature/AmeliaBedelia''. Mr. Rogers ends up talking himself into circles explaining that "left is right" and "right is wrong". Eventually, he says "bear left" and Amelia turns right [[LiteralMinded to avoid the bear]]. He tries to explain her mistake, but she doesn't quite get it: [[SustainedMisunderstanding "Oh, if I'd known the bear left, I wouldn't have turned right."]]