"on the Q.T." meaning in English

See on the Q.T. in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Prepositional phrase

Audio: En-au-on the Q.T..ogg
Etymology: Slang for "on the quiet," attested from 1874. Head templates: {{head|en|prepositional phrase|head=}} on the Q.T., {{en-PP}} on the Q.T.
  1. (idiomatic) Quietly; in a secretive manner; clandestinely. Tags: idiomatic Synonyms: on the qt, on the QT, on the q.t. Translations (secretly): тайко́м (tajkóm) (Russian), por lo bajini (Spanish), a hurtadillas (Spanish), de extranjis (Spanish), de tapadillo (Spanish), a cencerros tapados (Spanish), a la chita callando (Spanish), como quien no quiere la cosa (Spanish)

Alternative forms

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  "etymology_text": "Slang for \"on the quiet,\" attested from 1874.",
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      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1910, Harold MacGrath, chapter 12, in A Splendid Hazard:",
          "text": "Will you be so kind as to impress him with the fact that this expedition is on the Q.T.? Not that I think he will say anythin'.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1911, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 24, in Mavericks:",
          "text": "[R]ound up some of our friends on the q.t. Don't let Brill get a notion of what's in the air.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 8: Lestrygonians]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:",
          "text": "All kind of places are good for ads ... Got fellows to stick them up or stick himself for that matter on the q.t. running in to loosen a button. Fly by night.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1962 August 28, Jack Anderson, “Lobbyists Moan Over ‘Shakedown’”, in Sarasota Journal, USA, retrieved 2010-08-25, page 6:",
          "text": "But most are cozy affairs, kept strictly on the Q.T. Nothing is done in writing—no invitations, no tickets, just quiet phone calls.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1997, LA Confidential:",
          "text": "You heard it first here, dear readers... off the record, \"on the Q.T.\", and very Hush Hush.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2005, 00:05:05 from the start, in Brokeback Mountain:",
          "text": "Now, what I want is a camp tender to stay in the main camp, where the Forest Service says. But the herder is gonna pitch a pup tent on the Q.T. with the sheep and he's gonna sleep there.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007 January 29, David Stout, “Ex-Bush Aide Contradicts Libby on C.I.A. Agent”, in New York Times, retrieved 2010-08-25:",
          "text": "“This is hush-hush,” Mr. Fleischer recalled Mr. Libby as saying in effect. “This is on the Q.T. Not many people know about this.”",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Quietly; in a secretive manner; clandestinely."
      ],
      "id": "en-on_the_Q.T.-en-prep_phrase-S4s96DQb",
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          "Quietly",
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          "secretive",
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        "(idiomatic) Quietly; in a secretive manner; clandestinely."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "on the qt"
        },
        {
          "word": "on the QT"
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        {
          "word": "on the q.t."
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      "tags": [
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      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "tajkóm",
          "sense": "secretly",
          "word": "тайко́м"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "secretly",
          "word": "por lo bajini"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "secretly",
          "word": "a hurtadillas"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "secretly",
          "word": "de extranjis"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "secretly",
          "word": "de tapadillo"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "secretly",
          "word": "a cencerros tapados"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "secretly",
          "word": "a la chita callando"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "secretly",
          "word": "como quien no quiere la cosa"
        }
      ]
    }
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      "audio": "En-au-on the Q.T..ogg",
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  "word": "on the Q.T."
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          "ref": "1910, Harold MacGrath, chapter 12, in A Splendid Hazard:",
          "text": "Will you be so kind as to impress him with the fact that this expedition is on the Q.T.? Not that I think he will say anythin'.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1911, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 24, in Mavericks:",
          "text": "[R]ound up some of our friends on the q.t. Don't let Brill get a notion of what's in the air.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 8: Lestrygonians]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:",
          "text": "All kind of places are good for ads ... Got fellows to stick them up or stick himself for that matter on the q.t. running in to loosen a button. Fly by night.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1962 August 28, Jack Anderson, “Lobbyists Moan Over ‘Shakedown’”, in Sarasota Journal, USA, retrieved 2010-08-25, page 6:",
          "text": "But most are cozy affairs, kept strictly on the Q.T. Nothing is done in writing—no invitations, no tickets, just quiet phone calls.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1997, LA Confidential:",
          "text": "You heard it first here, dear readers... off the record, \"on the Q.T.\", and very Hush Hush.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2005, 00:05:05 from the start, in Brokeback Mountain:",
          "text": "Now, what I want is a camp tender to stay in the main camp, where the Forest Service says. But the herder is gonna pitch a pup tent on the Q.T. with the sheep and he's gonna sleep there.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007 January 29, David Stout, “Ex-Bush Aide Contradicts Libby on C.I.A. Agent”, in New York Times, retrieved 2010-08-25:",
          "text": "“This is hush-hush,” Mr. Fleischer recalled Mr. Libby as saying in effect. “This is on the Q.T. Not many people know about this.”",
          "type": "quote"
        }
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      "glosses": [
        "Quietly; in a secretive manner; clandestinely."
      ],
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          "secretive",
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        ]
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        "(idiomatic) Quietly; in a secretive manner; clandestinely."
      ],
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        "idiomatic"
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  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "on the qt"
    },
    {
      "word": "on the QT"
    },
    {
      "word": "on the q.t."
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "tajkóm",
      "sense": "secretly",
      "word": "тайко́м"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "secretly",
      "word": "por lo bajini"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "secretly",
      "word": "a hurtadillas"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "secretly",
      "word": "de extranjis"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "secretly",
      "word": "de tapadillo"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "secretly",
      "word": "a cencerros tapados"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "secretly",
      "word": "a la chita callando"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "secretly",
      "word": "como quien no quiere la cosa"
    }
  ],
  "word": "on the Q.T."
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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