backstairs

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a secondary staircase at the rear of a building, traditionally used by servants or tradespeople

   The maid led the messenger up the backstairs to avoid the crowded hall.

2. 2
   adj

   secret, underhand, or conducted through unofficial influence

   The appointment followed months of backstairs bargaining among party leaders.

A compound of back + stairs. The literal term named a rear or service staircase away from a house's formal rooms. Because servants, private visitors, and political intermediaries could use such routes unseen, backstairs developed an adjective sense for secret or underhand influence.

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