BACKSTAIR

backstair, backstairs, furtive

(adjective) secret and sly or sordid; “backstairs gossip”; “his low backstairs cunning”- A.L.Guerard; “backstairs intimacies”; “furtive behavior”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Adjective

backstair (not comparable)

clandestine, secret or furtive

Synonyms

• backstairs

Noun

backstair (plural backstairs)

The backstairs (stairs at the rear of a building).

Source: Wiktionary

Back"stairs`, Back"stair`, a.

Definition: Private; indirect; secret; intriguing; as if finding access by the back stairs. A backstairs influence. Burke. Female caprice and backstairs influence. Trevelyan.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition