An Americanism dating back to 1860–65
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
Mine, currently, is a back-alley trail that winds through Eagle Rock’s rec center, through the hills and onto the Occidental College campus.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2024
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
After the pathetic back-alley drama, I headed to Burton’s pharmacy, which had been the real purpose of the trip downtown.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
In a damp back alley, Jingjing joined job-seekers milling about leisurely, haggling for higher wages while garment bosses perched on scooters brandished hiring signs, desperate for day labourers.
From Barron's ● May 6, 2026
“We can play a defensive game if we have to. And I think we can play a back alley game, too.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2025
Shawn Younker, incarcerated in Pennsylvania, writes, “We might as well be rummaging the dusty old leftovers in some thrift store or back alley dumpster.”
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2024
The students had planned to meet that day after classes in a back alley less than 300 feet from the campus, he said.
From New York Times ● Nov. 15, 2023
I avoided the front door and went around to the back alley.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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.
