back-alley

[ bak-al-ee ]

/ ˈbækˈæl i /

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adjective

dirty, unprepossessing, sordid, or clandestine: back-alley morals; back-alley political schemes.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of back-alley

An Americanism dating back to 1860–65

Words nearby back-alley

Bacillus thuringiensis, bacitracin, back, backache, back against the wall, back-alley, back anchor, back and fill, back-and-forth, back and to, back away

How to use back-alley in a sentence

I never want to return to the days of gruesome back-alley abortions.
Abortion Rights Community Has Become the NRA of the Left|Kirsten Powers|May 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
And it happened with this modern-day back alley butcher in Philadelphia.
The Twisted Abortion Doctor|Michelle Goldberg|January 20, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Just around the corner from stores like Chanel, Valentino, and Hermès—not exactly a back alley.
My Illegal, Flammable, Fabulous Hair Treatment|Laura Bennett|July 10, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The execrable back alley was conducted on the pig-sty basis.
Revisiting the Earth|James Langdon Hill

Let not the atheist say that there is a child in the back alley dying.
The Golden Censer|John McGovern
How slatternly the old back alley fence would look now that the parking system is adopted by neighbors.
Revisiting the Earth|James Langdon Hill
Then, bleeding from his shoulder and with blood upon his beard, he made afresh for the passage leading to the back alley.
The Scapegoat|Hall Caine
A man may live in the back alley of life or on the boulevard, according to the dictates of the spirit.
The Vitalized School|Francis B. Pearson

Other Idioms and Phrases with back-alley

back alley

see under back street.