under-the-counter
[ uhn-der-thuh-koun-ter ]
/ ˈʌn dər ðəˈkaʊn tər /
adjective
(of merchandise) sold clandestinely.
illegal; unauthorized: under-the-counter payments.
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Origin of under-the-counter
First recorded in 1945–50
Words nearby under-the-counter
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for under-the-counter
“Because of a few who make themselves rich from politics and under-the-counter money, all of us have to pay,” she blogged.
Italy’s Politicians Revealed by P.M. as Highest Paid in Europe|Barbie Latza Nadeau|January 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Idioms and Phrases with under-the-counter
under the counter
Secretly, surreptitiously, as in I'm sure they're selling liquor to minors under the counter. This expression most often alludes to an illegal transaction, the counter being the flat-surfaced furnishing or table over which legal business is conducted. It was first recorded in 1926. Also see under the table.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.