そば杖づえ

noun

blow received by a bystander; getting dragged into someone else's fight

Used in the idiom 側杖を食う (そばづえをくう), meaning to suffer harm or get involved in trouble not originally one's own. Often refers to being caught in the crossfire of a dispute or conflict.

• 夫ふう婦ふ喧嘩げんかの側そば杖づえを食くって、子こ供どもが泣なき出だした。

  Caught in the crossfire of the couple's quarrel, the child started crying.

• 会かい社しゃの派は閥ばつ争あらそいで、関かん係けいない社しゃ員いんが側そば杖づえを食くうこともある。

  In company factional disputes, uninvolved employees sometimes get dragged in.