through the back door

idiom

: in a secret or indirect way

He managed to get into the private club through the back door because he has a friend who works there.

accessing the computer security system through the back door

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Lewis and McLaughlin have been known to sneak athletes into the building through the back door to avoid the public eye. —The Indianapolis Star, 21 Jan. 2023

Nayeri sold to dispensaries — illicitly, through the back door. —Tim Dickinson, Rolling Stone, 17 Dec. 2022

Ruth’s brother, Kyle, was there, too, staring like a moron through the back door. —Matthew Klam, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2022

The wild card Phillies came through the back door with 87 wins in the NL East. —Paul Hoynes, cleveland, 5 Nov. 2022

The ex escaped through the back door and the roommates climbed out the bathroom window and ran to a neighbor’s house. —Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 4 May 2022

What could be more Eurocentric than to let music in only through the back door, the way musicians had to use the servants’ entrance to the European courts in the 18th century? —Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2021

The windows facing Holiday Park are shuttered and painted black, and the entrance is through the back door on a side street. —Ben Crandell, sun-sentinel.com, 24 June 2021

As Pence spoke to donors who gave tens of thousands of dollars on an upstairs floor of the Four Seasons, the former president came in through the back door of the restaurant, drawing cheers from startled diners. —Josh Dawsey, Anchorage Daily News, 17 Apr. 2023

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