behind someone's back en · ADP
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Meanings
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(idiomatic) Without somebody's knowledge; secretly.
You will lose good karma if you say bad things behind people's backs.
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
1998, Violent Femmes, “Kiss Off”, in Violent Femmes: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.
1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter II, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC, page 25:The employees talked about their boss behind his back.
Giant machines, precision tools, monster missiles, and all such [they] did lack. Indeed, the last industrial revolution happened behind their back.
1974, Tunji Oyelana, “Which Way Africa”:
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(India, South) Pursuing, nagging someone. Calque of వెంటపడు in Telugu.
Amma is constantly behind my back about my marks.
Translations (21)
es por la puerta de atrás (secretly) · cy dan din (secretly) · pt pelas costas (secretly) · sv bakom någons rygg (secretly) · hu a háta mögött (secretly) · id di belakang (secretly) · cmn 在某人背後 /在某人背后 (secretly) · es de extranjis (secretly) · fr à l'insu de (secretly) · de hinter jemandes Rücken (secretly) · es a espaldas de alguien (secretly) · ru за глаза́ (secretly) · es de tapadillo (secretly) · es a escondidas (secretly) · de hinterrücks (secretly) · sv bakom ryggen på någon (secretly) · es a escondidillas (secretly) · it alle spalle (secretly) · nan 尻川後 /尻川后 (secretly) · fr dans le dos de (secretly) · fi selän takana (secretly)