Backstairs
-ssociated or originating with household servants.
secret, underhanded, or scandalous:
backstairs gossip.
contemporary examples
which means that every seat contains someone who is reclining straight into the lap of their backstairs neighbor.
should people stop reclining their seats? megan mcardle february 19, 2013
historical examples
but i hope one of the results of this war will be the end of backstairs diplomacy.
face to face with kaiserism james w. gerard
“that’s truth enough,” said an asthmatic voice from the backstairs.
the manxman hall caine
at that moment, mary ellen, having heard the voice of her mistress, projected her face above the doorsill of the backstairs.
explorers of the dawn mazo de la roche
we will go to my room by the backstairs, then we sha’n’t disturb anybody.
unlucky caroline austin
jewel found the backstairs and ascended them, her little heart hot within her.
jewel clara louise burnham
he wasn’t groom of the backstairs to england’s queen for nothing.
the lion and the mouse charles klein
the backstairs one would not choose; but what other way was there?
the lady of lynn walter besant
verus was no schemer; he walked in at the front door with a free and careless step, and scorned to climb the backstairs.
the emperor, complete georg ebers
but where, oh, where was the exiled phelan when the bogus gladwin went on his backstairs investigation?
officer 666 barton w. currie
plural noun
a secondary staircase in a house, esp one originally for the use of servants
adjective
underhand: backstairs gossip
“stairs at the back of a structure,” 1650s, from back (adj.) + stairs (see stair). figurative use is attested earlier (1640s).
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stairs at the back of a house, as for use by servants. a means of intrigue. historical examples beauty must exert what power it could in the boudoir and on the back stairs. lola montez edmund b. d’auvergne the housekeeper made a hasty exit by way of the back stairs. the portygee joseph crosby lincoln […]
- Backstay
machinery. a supporting or checking piece in a mechanism. building trades. an anch-r-d tension member, as a cable, permanently or temporarily supporting a compression member, as a tower or pole, subject to a pull above its base from the opposite direction. a strip of leather at the back of a shoe used for reinforcement and […]
- Backstitch
st-tching or a st-tch in which the thread is doubled back on the preceding st-tch. to sew by backst-tch. historical examples insert one thickness between the other two ends, and backst-tch closely. make your own hats gene allen martin here each little diamond is worked in simple outline st-tch, and each square outlined with backst-tch. […]
- Back stopper
a wall, wire screen, or the like, serving to prevent a ball from going too far beyond the normal playing area. baseball. the catcher. a person or thing that serves as a support, safeguard, or reinforcement: there were technicians on board as backstops to the automated controls. to act as a backstop. to act as […]
- Backstory
a narrative providing a history or background context, especially for a character or situation in a literary work, film, or dramatic series. prequel. contemporary examples the backstory of the snap bill is as much about internal republican party dynamics as it is about republicans versus democrats. with house win, gop pushes food-stamp cuts to the […]