BACKSTAIRS

backstair, backstairs, furtive

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

backstairs

(noun) a second staircase at the rear of a building

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

backstairs pl (plural only)

A staircase at the rear of a building or one normally only used by servants and tradesmen.

An indirect or furtive means of access or intercourse.

Adjective

backstairs (comparative more backstairs, superlative most backstairs)

Secret or furtive.

Scandalous.

Synonyms

• backstair

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.

BACKSTAIR

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



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Word of the Day

14 May 2025

TERNARY

(adjective) having three units or components or elements; “a ternary operation”; “a treble row of red beads”; “overcrowding made triple sessions necessary”; “triple time has three beats per measure”; “triplex windows”


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