back door

British  

noun

1. a door at the rear or side of a building

2. 1. a means of entry to a job, position, etc, that is secret, underhand, or obtained through influence

   2. ( as modifier )

      a backdoor way of making firms pay more

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back door Idioms  

1. An entry at the rear of a building, as in Deliveries are supposed to be made at the back door only . [First half of 1500s]

2. A clandestine, unauthorized, or illegal way of operating. For example, Salesmen are constantly trying to push their products by offering special gifts through the back door . This term alludes to the fact that the back door cannot be seen from the front. [Late 1500s]

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Example Sentences

But the realization that anyone who came through the back door would know how we’d scored in the previous academic quarter meant that no one could doubt what my parents expected of us.

From The Wall Street Journal

But if that was the case, then McLaren was the hopeless character who forgot to bolt the back door.

From The Wall Street Journal

Which is what she did one cold evening two years ago, slipping out the back door while I was on the phone.

From The Wall Street Journal

I don’t bother to throw any shoes on; I just grab my father’s old letterman jacket and wrench the back door open.

From Literature

She had woken from a nap to find her back door open and her son missing, according to a police report.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• side door