under the counter

== English == === Alternative forms === under-the-counter === Adverb === under the counter (comparative more under the counter, superlative most under the counter) 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). 1969 The Seven Minutes: A Novel[1] - Page 157 by Irving Wallace Oh, yeah, I remember, you mean about me not trying to sell from under the counter? 2004, James Carlos Blake, Under the Skin,[2] HarperCollins, →ISBN, page 55, When Prohibition became the law, they produced the stuff in greater quantity and sold it under the counter to anybody who wanted it. ==== Translations ==== === Adjective === under the counter (comparative more under the counter, superlative most under the counter) (British, Ireland, colloquial) In an underhand way, sneakily; unofficially, particularly with regard to payment or tax avoidance. ==== Translations ==== === See also === under the table off the books nixer over the counter