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
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 ● Nov. 20, 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
We shuddered when we listened to the stories of our older generations who described back-alley abortions.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 5, 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
The back-and-forth fosters confusion but also distrust, she said: "It further perpetuates the myth of like, the sketchy abortion doctor in the back alley."
From Barron's ● May 10, 2026
The latter here is represented via a large puppet created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, and the walk-through experience will take us from taverns to the back alley of a marketplace to the beholder’s lair.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2025
“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
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.
