under the table
prep_phrase1
Adjectival Secret; covert; undisclosed.
2
Adverbial Secretly; covertly; undisclosedly.
- I was paid under the table, so I didn't have to pay taxes on the income but I couldn't complain when I was cheated.
- 2015, Elizabeth Royte, Vultures Are Revolting. Here’s Why We Need to Save Them., National Geographic (December 2015)https://web.archive.org/web/20151213095110/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2016/01/vultures-text The men tie up their dogs, retrieve what’s left of the lion’s kill, and sprinkle it with a generic form of Furadan, a cheap, fast-acting pesticide that’s readily available under the table.
3
In or into a state of stupification or boredom.
4
In or into a state of drunkenness.
5
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see under, table.