"under the counter" meaning in English

See under the counter in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

Forms: more under the counter [comparative], most under the counter [superlative]
Head templates: {{en-adj}} under the counter (comparative more under the counter, superlative most under the counter)
  1. (British, Ireland, colloquial) In an underhand way, sneakily; unofficially, particularly with regard to payment or tax avoidance. Tags: British, Ireland, colloquial Related terms: under the table, off the books, nixer, over the counter Translations (unofficially): 私下的 (sīxià de) (Chinese Mandarin), pimeä (Finnish), illecito (Italian), fraudolento (Italian), irregolare (Italian)
    Sense id: en-under_the_counter-en-adj-NSeQKm~g Categories (other): British English, Irish English, English entries with incorrect language header, English entries with language name categories using raw markup, English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 52 48 Disambiguation of English entries with language name categories using raw markup: 57 43 Disambiguation of English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys: 54 46

Adverb

Forms: more under the counter [comparative], most under the counter [superlative]
Head templates: {{en-adv|more}} under the counter (comparative more under the counter, superlative most under the counter)
  1. Illicitly, against regulations, of goods kept under the serving counter in a shop to be unobtrusively passed to a customer who knows they are available for surreptitious sale (e.g. pornographic magazines in a newsagent). Synonyms: under-the-counter Translations (illicitly): 非法地 (fēifǎ de) (Chinese Mandarin), tiskin alta (Finnish), sous le comptoir (French), unter dem Ladentisch (German), pult alatt (Hungarian), sottobanco (Italian), illecitamente (Italian), fraudolento (Italian), subdolamente (Italian), и́з-под полы́ (íz-pod polý) (Russian)
    Sense id: en-under_the_counter-en-adv-QgXJ6QjP Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 52 48 Disambiguation of English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys: 54 46

Download JSON data for under the counter meaning in English (5.0kB)

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more under the counter",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most under the counter",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "more"
      },
      "expansion": "under the counter (comparative more under the counter, superlative most under the counter)",
      "name": "en-adv"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "52 48",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
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          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "54 46",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
            "Entry maintenance"
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          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "1969 The Seven Minutes: A Novel - Page 157 by Irving Wallace\nOh, yeah, I remember, you mean about me not trying to sell from under the counter?"
        },
        {
          "text": "2004, James Carlos Blake, Under the Skin, HarperCollins, →ISBN, page 55,\nWhen Prohibition became the law, they produced the stuff in greater quantity and sold it under the counter to anybody who wanted it."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Illicitly, against regulations, of goods kept under the serving counter in a shop to be unobtrusively passed to a customer who knows they are available for surreptitious sale (e.g. pornographic magazines in a newsagent)."
      ],
      "id": "en-under_the_counter-en-adv-QgXJ6QjP",
      "links": [
        [
          "Illicitly",
          "illicitly"
        ],
        [
          "goods",
          "goods"
        ],
        [
          "surreptitious",
          "surreptitious"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "100 0",
          "word": "under-the-counter"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "fēifǎ de",
          "sense": "illicitly",
          "word": "非法地"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "illicitly",
          "word": "tiskin alta"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "illicitly",
          "word": "sous le comptoir"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "illicitly",
          "word": "unter dem Ladentisch"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "illicitly",
          "word": "pult alatt"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "illicitly",
          "word": "sottobanco"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "illicitly",
          "word": "illecitamente"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "illicitly",
          "word": "fraudolento"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "illicitly",
          "word": "subdolamente"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "íz-pod polý",
          "sense": "illicitly",
          "word": "и́з-под полы́"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "under the counter"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more under the counter",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most under the counter",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
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      "args": {},
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      "name": "en-adj"
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "British English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Irish English",
          "parents": [],
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        },
        {
          "_dis": "52 48",
          "kind": "other",
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          "parents": [
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          "_dis": "54 46",
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          "name": "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
          "parents": [
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            "Entry maintenance"
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          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2003 September 19, “Lawlor questioned at Planning probe”, in RTE News",
          "text": "This morning he said he could not remember exactly where or how the invoice was written. It was used to cover up an under the counter payment from the sale of his land in Lucan.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "In an underhand way, sneakily; unofficially, particularly with regard to payment or tax avoidance."
      ],
      "id": "en-under_the_counter-en-adj-NSeQKm~g",
      "links": [
        [
          "underhand",
          "underhand"
        ],
        [
          "unofficially",
          "unofficially"
        ],
        [
          "tax",
          "tax"
        ],
        [
          "avoidance",
          "avoidance"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(British, Ireland, colloquial) In an underhand way, sneakily; unofficially, particularly with regard to payment or tax avoidance."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "under the table"
        },
        {
          "word": "off the books"
        },
        {
          "word": "nixer"
        },
        {
          "word": "over the counter"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "British",
        "Ireland",
        "colloquial"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "sīxià de",
          "sense": "unofficially",
          "word": "私下的"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "unofficially",
          "word": "pimeä"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "unofficially",
          "word": "illecito"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "unofficially",
          "word": "fraudolento"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "unofficially",
          "word": "irregolare"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "under the counter"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English adjectives",
    "English adverbs",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English prepositional phrases",
    "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more under the counter",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most under the counter",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "more"
      },
      "expansion": "under the counter (comparative more under the counter, superlative most under the counter)",
      "name": "en-adv"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
  "senses": [
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "1969 The Seven Minutes: A Novel - Page 157 by Irving Wallace\nOh, yeah, I remember, you mean about me not trying to sell from under the counter?"
        },
        {
          "text": "2004, James Carlos Blake, Under the Skin, HarperCollins, →ISBN, page 55,\nWhen Prohibition became the law, they produced the stuff in greater quantity and sold it under the counter to anybody who wanted it."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Illicitly, against regulations, of goods kept under the serving counter in a shop to be unobtrusively passed to a customer who knows they are available for surreptitious sale (e.g. pornographic magazines in a newsagent)."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Illicitly",
          "illicitly"
        ],
        [
          "goods",
          "goods"
        ],
        [
          "surreptitious",
          "surreptitious"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "under-the-counter"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "fēifǎ de",
      "sense": "illicitly",
      "word": "非法地"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "illicitly",
      "word": "tiskin alta"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "illicitly",
      "word": "sous le comptoir"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "illicitly",
      "word": "unter dem Ladentisch"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "illicitly",
      "word": "pult alatt"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "illicitly",
      "word": "sottobanco"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "illicitly",
      "word": "illecitamente"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "illicitly",
      "word": "fraudolento"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "illicitly",
      "word": "subdolamente"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "íz-pod polý",
      "sense": "illicitly",
      "word": "и́з-под полы́"
    }
  ],
  "word": "under the counter"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English adjectives",
    "English adverbs",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English prepositional phrases",
    "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more under the counter",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most under the counter",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "under the counter (comparative more under the counter, superlative most under the counter)",
      "name": "en-adj"
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "under the table"
    },
    {
      "word": "off the books"
    },
    {
      "word": "nixer"
    },
    {
      "word": "over the counter"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "British English",
        "English colloquialisms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Irish English"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2003 September 19, “Lawlor questioned at Planning probe”, in RTE News",
          "text": "This morning he said he could not remember exactly where or how the invoice was written. It was used to cover up an under the counter payment from the sale of his land in Lucan.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "In an underhand way, sneakily; unofficially, particularly with regard to payment or tax avoidance."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "underhand",
          "underhand"
        ],
        [
          "unofficially",
          "unofficially"
        ],
        [
          "tax",
          "tax"
        ],
        [
          "avoidance",
          "avoidance"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(British, Ireland, colloquial) In an underhand way, sneakily; unofficially, particularly with regard to payment or tax avoidance."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "British",
        "Ireland",
        "colloquial"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "under-the-counter"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "sīxià de",
      "sense": "unofficially",
      "word": "私下的"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "unofficially",
      "word": "pimeä"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "unofficially",
      "word": "illecito"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "unofficially",
      "word": "fraudolento"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "unofficially",
      "word": "irregolare"
    }
  ],
  "word": "under the counter"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-24 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (82c8ff9 and f4967a5). 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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