below stairs

below stairs
   1. British
   employed as a domestic servant
   The construction of town houses afforded day accommodation for the servants in cellars or semi-basements and sleeping space in the attics, communication taking place through the back stairs of gossip fame:
    To have one affair might be manageable: but to bed so many, and to stoop below the stairs, and then get caught, was a bed too far. (Parris, 1995, writing of the Victorian literary figure Charles Dilke)
   2. the genitalia
   A variant of down below:
    The wretched bitch was halfway down my throat and rummaging below stairs with an expert hand. (Fraser, 1994)

How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms. . 2014.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • below stairs — adv. Chiefly Brit. 1. DOWNSTAIRS (adv. 2) 2. in the servants area in the basement of a wealthy household: Also belowstairs below stairs adj …   English World dictionary

  • below stairs — ► below stairs Brit. dated in the basement of a house (occupied by servants). Main Entry: ↑below …   English terms dictionary

  • below stairs — also below stairs ADV: n ADV, ADV after v People sometimes use below stairs to refer to the servants in a rich household and the things that are connected with them. Life below stairs at Buckingham Palace is to be turned into a TV drama. ADJ: usu …   English dictionary

  • Below stairs — Stair Stair (st[^a]r), n. [OE. steir, steyer, AS. st[=ae]ger, from st[imac]gan to ascend, rise. [root]164. See {Sty} to ascend.] 1. One step of a series for ascending or descending to a different level; commonly applied to those within a building …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • below stairs — Chiefly Brit. (formerly) the basement rooms usually used by servants, as servants quarters, kitchen, and laundry room. * * * below stairs 1. In the basement 2. Among the servants • • • Main Entry: ↑stair * * * below ˈstairs idiom ( …   Useful english dictionary

  • below-stairs — see below stairs …   English dictionary

  • below stairs Brit. — below stairs Brit. dated in the basement of a house as occupied by servants. → below …   English new terms dictionary

  • below stairs — Chiefly Brit. (formerly) the basement rooms usually used by servants, as servants quarters, kitchen, and laundry room. * * * …   Universalium

  • below stairs — /bəloʊ ˈstɛəz/ (say buhloh stairz) noun Chiefly British (formerly) the basement of a large house where the servants prepare meals, etc …  

  • A Countess Below Stairs — Infobox Book name = A Countess Below Stairs title orig = translator = image caption = author = Eva Ibbotson illustrator = cover artist = country = language = English series = subject = genre = publisher = HarperCollins pub date = 1982 english pub …   Wikipedia

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