Shoe is on the other foot

The shoe is on the other foot is a metaphor to describe when situations or circumstances between people have been reversed. The expression dates in this sense from the mid-19th century, sometimes earlier expressed as the boot is on the other leg. The expression arose when boots and shoes started to be manufactured as left and right during the 19th century. Before this, shoes and boots were made in different sizes but in one shape that could be worn on either foot. The current North American variant is the boot is on the other foot.