This idiom uses gutter in the sense of a conduit for filthy waste mid 1800s.
As i was lying in the gutter.
Oscar wilde quotes quotable quote we are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars oscar wilde lady windermere s fan tags.
An antonym out of the gutter means away from vulgarity or sordidness as in that joke was quite innocent.
Inspirational optimism perception pessimism.
As i lay there in the gutter with my heart still in a flutter a lady passing by began to say you can tell a man who boozes by the company he chooses and the pig got up and slowly walked away.
He once described you said kate as a man who is happy to lie in the gutter and watch while others climb mountains i think you ll find that sir somerset like shakespeare is often misquoted it would be hard to prove either way said kate as he s also dead p339.