under-the-table
[ uhn-der-thuh-tey-buhl ]
/ ˈʌn dər ðəˈteɪ bəl /
adjective
transacted in secret or in an underhanded manner.
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Origin of under-the-table
First recorded in 1945–50
Words nearby under-the-table
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for under-the-table
The existing industry is built on crime and under-the-table economics.
They were not more than four or five inches thick, but that is the ideal height for an under-the-table cushion.
The House in Good Taste|Elsie de Wolfe
British Dictionary definitions for under-the-table
under the table
adjective
(under-the-table when prenominal) done illicitly and secretly
slang drunk
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
Idioms and Phrases with under-the-table
under the table
In secret, as in They paid her under the table so as to avoid taxes. This term alludes to money being passed under a table in some shady transaction, such as a bribe. [Mid-1900s] Also see under the counter.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.