plural noun

Stairs at the back or side of a building.

Places (we often called them that instead of farms) that I knew about all had either stairs or backstairs to the servants quarters, so I was quite surprised to see that at Beamish ladders had been the order of the day.

adjective

Underhanded or clandestine.

I won’t make backstairs deals with politicians

deceitful,underhanded,dishonest,dishonourable,disreputable,unethical,unprincipled,immoral,unscrupulous,fraudulent,cheating,dubious,dirty,unfair,treacherous,duplicitous,double-dealing,below the belt,two-timing,two-faced,Janus-faced,unsporting,unsportsmanlike