Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for back-alley. Search instead for back-assed.
Synonyms

back-alley

American  
[bak-al-ee] / ˈbækˈæl i /

adjective

  1. dirty, unprepossessing, sordid, or clandestine.

    back-alley morals; back-alley political schemes.
back alley Idioms  

  1. see under back street.

Etymology

Origin of back-alley

An Americanism dating back to 1860–65

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Bickerstaff was referring to a time-honored tradition of Detroit basketball: Turning a hard court ballet into a back-alley brawl.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026

In this country, before abortion was legal, women went to both reputable doctors and back-alley quacks to get care.

From Slate • Nov. 7, 2023

As a result, the illicit abortions that were once invisible — the back-alley abortions before Roe v.

From New York Times • Dec. 8, 2022

Created by company director Abby Zbikowski and dramaturge Momar Ndiaye, the choreography resonates with back-alley, “Stomp”-style energy.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 7, 2022

Abortion was, and still is, illegal in Iran, but women were either able to find medical practitioners willing to perform one or would take the back-alley route.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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