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behind someone's back. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
behind someone's back, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
behind someone's back in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Pronunciation
Prepositional phrase
behind someone's back
- (idiomatic) Without somebody's knowledge; secretly.
The employees talked about their boss behind his back.
You will lose good karma if you say bad things behind people's backs.
1908, W B M Ferguson, chapter II, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC, page 25:I had never defrauded a man of a farthing, nor called him knave behind his back. But now the last rag that covered my nakedness had been torn from me. I was branded a blackleg, card-sharper, and murderer.
1974, Tunji Oyelana, “Which Way Africa”:Giant machines, precision tools, monster missiles, and all such did lack.
Indeed, the last industrial revolution happened behind their back.
1998, Violent Femmes, “Kiss Off”, in Violent Femmes:You can all just kiss off into the air / Behind my back I can see them stare / They'll hurt me bad, but I won't mind / They'll hurt me bad, they do it all the time
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