Backstair, Backstairs adj. Private; indirect; secret; conducted with secrecy; intriguing; as if finding access by the back stairs; as, backstairs gossip. Synonyms: clandestine, cloak-and-dagger, hugger-mugger, hush-hush, on the quiet(predicate), secret, subterranean, surreptitious, undercover, underground. "A backstairs influence." "Female caprice and backstair influence."
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