外方
そっぽ · soppo · JLPT N1 · noun
direction
🧭 外 (outside) + 方 (direction/side) = facing the outside side, i.e. turning away
The reading そっぽ is used in そっぽを向く, to turn your face away from someone. 外 is outside and 方 is direction, so the compound points your face toward the outside.
外 — evening 夕 + divination 卜
Originally a compound of 夕 (evening) and 卜 (divination). Ancient Chinese divinations were performed in the morning; doing them at evening (夕) was considered irregular or 'outside' the norm. From this sense of deviation, 外 came to mean 'outside' or 'external'.
方 — pictograph of a plow or two boats joined side by side
方 originated as a pictograph, traditionally interpreted as a plow handle or two boats lashed together. From the idea of paired boats it extended to mean 'side by side,' then 'square,' 'direction,' and 'region.' It was later borrowed for the abstract sense of 'method' or 'way.'