Main entry: backstair, backstairs, furtive
Definition: secret and sly or sordid
Usage: backstairs gossip; his low backstairs cunning- A.L.Guerard; backstairs intimacies; furtive behavior
Main entry: stealthy, surreptitious, sneak, sneaky, furtive
Definition: marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed
Usage: a furtive manner; a sneak attack; stealthy footsteps; a surreptitious glance at his watch