see the dark side of the moon

verb

To do or experience something exceedingly difficult or rare.

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Meanings

verbsee the dark side of the moon (third-person singular simple present sees the dark side of the moon, present participle seeing the dark side of the moon, simple past and past participle saw the dark side of the moon)

present singular third person sees the dark side of the moon · participle present seeing the dark side of the moon · participle past saw the dark side of the moon · past saw the dark side of the moon

  1. idiomaticTo do or experience something exceedingly difficult or rare.

    I am not asking to see the dark side of the moon, God. Only one word.

    2014, May Sarton -, At Eighty-Two: A Journal, →ISBN, page 104
    3 more examples

    I gotta say.. some of the opinions expressed are like seeing the dark side of the moon to me (not necessarily a bad thing btw).

    1999 April 21, HiRene23, “The Samurai a Snoozer?”, in alt.tv.highlander (Usenet)

    Examining them is like seeing the dark side of the moon, or stepping through a looking glass.

    2000 February 23, roger gonnet, “Scientology assault on Clearwater continues---St. Pete Times--Pulitzer 1980 1/5 (Series Parts 1-2)”, in alt.religion.scientology (Usenet)

    I've been down the darkest alleys, saw the dark side of the moon to get to you, to get to you.

    2017, Selena Gomez, Wolves (song lyrics)

Origin

The "far side of the moon", the side we don't see from home, is sometimes referred to colloquially as the "dark side of the moon" where "dark" means "unseen" rather than "unlit." In the latter sense, there is no dark side, as both sides of the moon receive equal sunlight. This makes it more or less impossible to see the "dark" side of the moon if this is taken to mean "unlit", and it is impossible to see the "far" side of the moon from Earth in the sense of "unseen."

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

see the dark side of the moon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/see%20the%20dark%20side%20of%20the%20moon

MLA

“see the dark side of the moon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/see%20the%20dark%20side%20of%20the%20moon. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “see the dark side of the moon,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/see%20the%20dark%20side%20of%20the%20moon.

Source: see the dark side of the moon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.