backstairs
Americanadjective
-
associated or originating with household servants.
Weak tea and burnt toast evidenced the start of a backstairs revolt.
-
secret, underhanded, or scandalous.
backstairs gossip.
plural noun
adjective
Etymology
Origin of backstairs
First recorded in 1635–45; adjective use of back stairs
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.
Up the backstairs, buzzed in by a security guard, through the parking lot, into an elevator, through a hallway.
From New York Times • Jan. 4, 2022
Instead, his columns were narratives of creation, abandonment and restoration that lovingly highlighted quirky design and backstairs gossip from decades past.
From New York Times • Mar. 13, 2017
Lord Butler of Brockwell said what he called "backstairs sniping" showed contempt for the civil service.
From BBC • Nov. 30, 2013
What do he and his son, James, now head of UK operations, get from backstairs political schmoozing?
From The Guardian • Oct. 12, 2010
Momma and I followed that lane to the backstairs of Dentist Lincoln’s office.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
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.
