back-alley

[bak-al-ee]

adjective

1. dirty, unprepossessing, sordid, or clandestine.

   back-alley morals; back-alley political schemes.

Word History and Origins

Origin of back alley¹

An Americanism dating back to 1860–65

Idioms and Phrases

see under back street.

Example Sentences

I knew that the pre-Roe era was one of dangerous back-alley abortions, but I also knew that was just one part of the story.

From Slate

On this Sunday morning, she, Winslet and Erivo sit with Demi Moore, who undergoes a dramatic physical transformation after receiving a back-alley rejuvenation treatment in “The Substance”; Zoe Saldaña, returning to singing and dancing as a lawyer protecting a Mexican cartel leader in the Spanish-language musical “Emilia Perez”; and Saoirse Ronan, starring as a young woman grappling with her sobriety in remote Scotland in “The Outrun” and as a British mother searching for her lost son during the Nazi bombing of London during World War II in “The Blitz.”

From Los Angeles Times

But there’s a real passion for the movie and Moore’s turn as Elisabeth Sparkle, a faded star who submits to a back-alley rejuvenation regime to reset her career.

From Los Angeles Times

Moore earned enthusiastic praise for her turn as Elisabeth Sparkle, a faded star who submits to a back-alley rejuvenation regime to reset her career.

From Los Angeles Times

In Coralie Fargeat’s blood-soaked fable about fear and self-loathing in Hollywood, Moore plays Elisabeth Sparkle, a faded star who submits to a back-alley rejuvenation regime to reset her career.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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