Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Furtively carried on; clandestine.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Private; indirect; secret; conducted with secrecy; intriguing; -- as if finding access by the back stairs.
- noun Stairs in the back part of a house, as distinguished from the
front stairs ; a second staircase at the rear of a building; hence, a private or indirect way.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
staircase at the rear of a building or one normally only used byservants and tradesmen. - noun An indirect or furtive means of access or intercourse.
- adjective
Secret orfurtive . - adjective
Scandalous .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a second staircase at the rear of a building
- adjective secret and sly or sordid
Etymologies
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Examples
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The road to eminence lay by the "backstairs," the atmosphere of which he could not endure.
The Ship of Fools, Volume 1 Sebastian Brant 1489
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In it, Bearden alternates between the commotion of Harlem -- street cars and barbershops, friends congregating on the corner -- and our quietest possible moments on earth -- through one of the building's windows, a couple makes love; through another, a man sits by himself on the backstairs.
Bobby Elliott: New York's Centennial Celebration of Romare Bearden (1911 - 1988) Bobby Elliott 2011
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Now, this will all be cleared up soon, but Mrs. Chiffinch misses you and wonders if we could sneak you in for a quiet supper in the backstairs with us.
Exit the Actress Priya Parmar 2011
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Will this happen or will the IMF job be subject to the usual mix of carve up, power politics and backstairs intrigue?
Gordon Brown and the IMF deserve better than this shabby treatment 2011
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We crept up the backstairs in our nightclothes, trailed by the sleepy dogs.
Exit the Actress Priya Parmar 2011
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In it, Bearden alternates between the commotion of Harlem -- street cars and barbershops, friends congregating on the corner -- and our quietest possible moments on earth -- through one of the building's windows, a couple makes love; through another, a man sits by himself on the backstairs.
Bobby Elliott: New York's Centennial Celebration of Romare Bearden (1911 - 1988) Bobby Elliott 2011
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We crept up the backstairs in our nightclothes, trailed by the sleepy dogs.
Exit the Actress Priya Parmar 2011
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In it, Bearden alternates between the commotion of Harlem -- street cars and barbershops, friends congregating on the corner -- and our quietest possible moments on earth -- through one of the building's windows, a couple makes love; through another, a man sits by himself on the backstairs.
Bobby Elliott: New York's Centennial Celebration of Romare Bearden (1911 - 1988) Bobby Elliott 2011
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Now, this will all be cleared up soon, but Mrs. Chiffinch misses you and wonders if we could sneak you in for a quiet supper in the backstairs with us.
Exit the Actress Priya Parmar 2011
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The walls of the backstairs and restrooms are also covered in kits.
Charleston's Three Lions Pub: a soccer highlight in America's lowcountry 2011
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