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definitions

back-alley

[bak-al-ee]
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR back-alley ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

dirty, unprepossessing, sordid, or clandestine: back-alley morals; back-alley political schemes.

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RELATED WORDS

roadway, lane, boulevard, court, thoroughfare, track, route, trail, pavement, place, road, avenue, highway, drive, passage, drag, terrace, way, turf, artery

Origin of back-alley

An Americanism dating back to 1860–65
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Idioms and Phrases with back alley

back alley

see under back street.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.