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backstairs

American  
[bak-stairz] / ˈbækˈstɛərz /
Or backstair

adjective

  1. associated or originating with household servants.

    Weak tea and burnt toast evidenced the start of a backstairs revolt.

  2. secret, underhanded, or scandalous.

    backstairs gossip.
backstairs British  
/ ˈbækˈstɛəz /

plural noun

  1. a secondary staircase in a house, esp one originally for the use of servants

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. underhand

    backstairs gossip
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of backstairs

First recorded in 1635–45; adjective use of back stairs

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.