behind someone's back



behind someone's back

Out of one's presence or without someone's knowledge, as in Joan has a nasty way of maligning her friends behind their backs. Sir Thomas Malory used this metaphoric term in Le Morte d'Arthur (c. 1470): "To say of me wrong or shame behind my back." [Early 1300s]
See also: back, behind

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Corey['kəʊri]
Anuj-Indian, Hindi, Marathi
KarolynKER-ə-lin, KAR-ə-linEnglish
VilÉM-Czech
OonaOO-na (Irish), O:-nah (Finnish)Irish, Finnish
Ulrikke-Norwegian, Danish