See backstairs in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
{ "etymology_templates": [ { "args": { "1": "en", "2": "back", "3": "stairs" }, "expansion": "back + stairs", "name": "compound" } ], "etymology_text": "From back + stairs.", "forms": [ { "form": "back-stairs", "tags": [ "alternative" ] } ], "head_templates": [ { "args": { "1": "p" }, "expansion": "backstairs pl (plural only)", "name": "en-noun" } ], "lang": "English", "lang_code": "en", "pos": "noun", "senses": [ { "categories": [ { "_dis": "7 4 52 37", "kind": "other", "name": "English entries with incorrect language header", "parents": [ "Entries with incorrect language header", "Entry maintenance" ], "source": "w+disamb" }, { "_dis": "10 8 66 16", "kind": "other", "name": "English pluralia tantum", "parents": [ "Pluralia tantum", "Nouns", "Lemmas" ], "source": "w+disamb" }, { "_dis": "18 6 53 23", "kind": "other", "name": "Entries with translation boxes", "parents": [], "source": "w+disamb" }, { "_dis": "8 3 49 39", "kind": "other", "name": "Pages with 1 entry", "parents": [], "source": "w+disamb" }, { "_dis": "9 4 71 16", "kind": "other", "name": "Pages with entries", "parents": [], "source": "w+disamb" }, { "_dis": "16 15 48 21", "kind": "other", "name": "Terms with Bulgarian translations", "parents": [], "source": "w+disamb" } ], "examples": [ { "ref": "1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “A Further Account of Glubbdubdrib. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume II, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part III (A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Glubbdubdribb, Luggnagg, and Japan), page 111:", "text": "Here I diſcovered the ſecret Cauſes of many great Events that have ſurprized the World, how a Whore can govern the Back-ſtairs, the Back-ſtairs a Council, and the Council a Senate.", "type": "quote" }, { "text": "1905, Ernest William Hornung, “The Spoils of Sacrilege” in A Thief in the Night,\nOther feet were already in the lower flight of the backstairs; but the upper flight was the one for me, and in an instant we were racing along the upper corridor […]" } ], "glosses": [ "A staircase at the rear of a building or one normally only used by servants and tradesmen." ], "id": "en-backstairs-en-noun-YMubqN8f", "links": [ [ "staircase", "staircase" ], [ "servant", "servant" ] ], "tags": [ "plural", "plural-only" ] }, { "categories": [], "examples": [ { "ref": "1934 March 27, “De Valera Move Hits Dignity Of Governor-General”, in Christian Science Monitor:", "text": "The straight-forward course, they say, would be to proclaim outright, instead of trying to bring it in by the backstairs.", "type": "quote" } ], "glosses": [ "An indirect or furtive means of access or intercourse." ], "id": "en-backstairs-en-noun-4kydfVTV", "tags": [ "plural", "plural-only" ] } ], "sounds": [ { "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-backstairs.wav", "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/26/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Wodencafe-backstairs.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Wodencafe-backstairs.wav.mp3", "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/26/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Wodencafe-backstairs.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Wodencafe-backstairs.wav.ogg" } ], "word": "backstairs" } { "etymology_templates": [ { "args": { "1": "en", "2": "back", "3": "stairs" }, "expansion": "back + stairs", "name": "compound" } ], "etymology_text": "From back + stairs.", "forms": [ { "form": "more backstairs", "tags": [ "comparative" ] }, { "form": "most backstairs", "tags": [ "superlative" ] }, { "form": "back-stairs", "tags": [ "alternative" ] } ], "head_templates": [ { "args": {}, "expansion": "backstairs (comparative more backstairs, superlative most backstairs)", "name": "en-adj" } ], "lang": "English", "lang_code": "en", "pos": "adj", "senses": [ { "categories": [], "examples": [ { "ref": "1770, Edmund Burke, Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents:", "text": "[…] if some peers (I am very sorry they are not as many as they ought to be) set themselves, in the great concern of peers and commons, against a back-stairs influence and clandestine government, then the alarm begins; then the constitution is in danger of being forced into an aristocracy.", "type": "quote" }, { "ref": "1880, George Otto Trevelyan, chapter 8, in The Early History of Charles James Fox, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1881, page 364:", "text": "The danger of the situation was increased by the mischievous conduct of Alderman Townshend, who had been brought down to the House, pale and bandaged from a recent surgical operation, in order to pour forth a diatribe against female caprice and backstairs influence; […]", "type": "quote" }, { "ref": "2004, Alan Hollinghurst, chapter 3, in The Line of Beauty […], London: Picador, →ISBN:", "text": "This backstairs visit was all about sex […]", "type": "quote" } ], "glosses": [ "Secret or furtive." ], "id": "en-backstairs-en-adj-toZH5TkM", "links": [ [ "Secret", "secret" ], [ "furtive", "furtive" ] ], "translations": [ { "_dis1": "99 1", "code": "bg", "lang": "Bulgarian", "roman": "zadkulisen", "sense": "Secret or furtive", "word": "задкулисен" } ] }, { "glosses": [ "Scandalous." ], "id": "en-backstairs-en-adj-eFG5QBiW", "links": [ [ "Scandalous", "scandalous" ] ] } ], "sounds": [ { "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-backstairs.wav", "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/26/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Wodencafe-backstairs.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Wodencafe-backstairs.wav.mp3", "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/26/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Wodencafe-backstairs.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Wodencafe-backstairs.wav.ogg" } ], "synonyms": [ { "_dis1": "0 0", "word": "backstair" } ], "word": "backstairs" }
{ "categories": [ "English adjectives", "English compound terms", "English entries with incorrect language header", "English lemmas", "English nouns", "English pluralia tantum", "Entries with translation boxes", "Pages with 1 entry", "Pages with entries", "Terms with Bulgarian translations" ], "etymology_templates": [ { "args": { "1": "en", "2": "back", "3": "stairs" }, "expansion": "back + stairs", "name": "compound" } ], "etymology_text": "From back + stairs.", "forms": [ { "form": "back-stairs", "tags": [ "alternative" ] } ], "head_templates": [ { "args": { "1": "p" }, "expansion": "backstairs pl (plural only)", "name": "en-noun" } ], "lang": "English", "lang_code": "en", "pos": "noun", "senses": [ { "categories": [ "English terms with quotations" ], "examples": [ { "ref": "1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “A Further Account of Glubbdubdrib. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume II, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part III (A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Glubbdubdribb, Luggnagg, and Japan), page 111:", "text": "Here I diſcovered the ſecret Cauſes of many great Events that have ſurprized the World, how a Whore can govern the Back-ſtairs, the Back-ſtairs a Council, and the Council a Senate.", "type": "quote" }, { "text": "1905, Ernest William Hornung, “The Spoils of Sacrilege” in A Thief in the Night,\nOther feet were already in the lower flight of the backstairs; but the upper flight was the one for me, and in an instant we were racing along the upper corridor […]" } ], "glosses": [ "A staircase at the rear of a building or one normally only used by servants and tradesmen." ], "links": [ [ "staircase", "staircase" ], [ "servant", "servant" ] ], "tags": [ "plural", "plural-only" ] }, { "categories": [ "English terms with quotations" ], "examples": [ { "ref": "1934 March 27, “De Valera Move Hits Dignity Of Governor-General”, in Christian Science Monitor:", "text": "The straight-forward course, they say, would be to proclaim outright, instead of trying to bring it in by the backstairs.", "type": "quote" } ], "glosses": [ "An indirect or furtive means of access or intercourse." ], "tags": [ "plural", "plural-only" ] } ], "sounds": [ { "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-backstairs.wav", "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/26/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Wodencafe-backstairs.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Wodencafe-backstairs.wav.mp3", "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/26/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Wodencafe-backstairs.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Wodencafe-backstairs.wav.ogg" } ], "word": "backstairs" } { "categories": [ "English adjectives", "English compound terms", "English entries with incorrect language header", "English lemmas", "English nouns", "English pluralia tantum", "Entries with translation boxes", "Pages with 1 entry", "Pages with entries", "Terms with Bulgarian translations" ], "etymology_templates": [ { "args": { "1": "en", "2": "back", "3": "stairs" }, "expansion": "back + stairs", "name": "compound" } ], "etymology_text": "From back + stairs.", "forms": [ { "form": "more backstairs", "tags": [ "comparative" ] }, { "form": "most backstairs", "tags": [ "superlative" ] }, { "form": "back-stairs", "tags": [ "alternative" ] } ], "head_templates": [ { "args": {}, "expansion": "backstairs (comparative more backstairs, superlative most backstairs)", "name": "en-adj" } ], "lang": "English", "lang_code": "en", "pos": "adj", "senses": [ { "categories": [ "English terms with quotations", "Quotation templates to be cleaned" ], "examples": [ { "ref": "1770, Edmund Burke, Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents:", "text": "[…] if some peers (I am very sorry they are not as many as they ought to be) set themselves, in the great concern of peers and commons, against a back-stairs influence and clandestine government, then the alarm begins; then the constitution is in danger of being forced into an aristocracy.", "type": "quote" }, { "ref": "1880, George Otto Trevelyan, chapter 8, in The Early History of Charles James Fox, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1881, page 364:", "text": "The danger of the situation was increased by the mischievous conduct of Alderman Townshend, who had been brought down to the House, pale and bandaged from a recent surgical operation, in order to pour forth a diatribe against female caprice and backstairs influence; […]", "type": "quote" }, { "ref": "2004, Alan Hollinghurst, chapter 3, in The Line of Beauty […], London: Picador, →ISBN:", "text": "This backstairs visit was all about sex […]", "type": "quote" } ], "glosses": [ "Secret or furtive." ], "links": [ [ "Secret", "secret" ], [ "furtive", "furtive" ] ] }, { "glosses": [ "Scandalous." ], "links": [ [ "Scandalous", "scandalous" ] ] } ], "sounds": [ { "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-backstairs.wav", "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/26/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Wodencafe-backstairs.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Wodencafe-backstairs.wav.mp3", "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/26/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Wodencafe-backstairs.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Wodencafe-backstairs.wav.ogg" } ], "synonyms": [ { "word": "backstair" } ], "translations": [ { "code": "bg", "lang": "Bulgarian", "roman": "zadkulisen", "sense": "Secret or furtive", "word": "задкулисен" } ], "word": "backstairs" }
Download raw JSONL data for backstairs meaning in English (5.2kB)
{ "called_from": "form_description/20250107", "msg": "Form tags without form: desc='plural plural-only', tagsets=[('plural', 'plural-only')]", "path": [ "backstairs" ], "section": "English", "subsection": "noun", "title": "backstairs", "trace": "" }
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