🗓️ Idiom: Under the Table (adv)
💬 Meaning
- Done secretly and often illegally, especially in business or financial situations.
- A way of doing something unofficially to avoid taxes, rules, or attention.
🧠 Example Sentences
- The company paid some workers under the table to avoid taxes.
- She received an under the table bonus that wasn’t reported officially.
- Doing deals under the table can lead to legal trouble.
🏛️ Origin
The phrase likely comes from the image of passing money or making deals beneath a table, hidden from public view. It became popular in the 1900s to describe secret payments or deals, especially those breaking the law or company rules.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
The manager paid the supplier __________ to avoid paperwork and questions.
Answer
under the table
2. Choose the correct meaning of “under the table”:
A) Done formally in a contract
B) Done secretly and often illegally
C) Done with the whole team
Answer
B) Done secretly and often illegally
3. Rewrite the sentence using the idiom:
“They gave him extra pay, but it was not in the official records.” → Change the sentence using: under the table
Answer
They paid him under the table.
ℹ️ Other Useful Pages
Rob is a CELTA qualified English teacher with 15 years of international experience. He has a BSc and PGDip from Loughborough and St Andrews universities in the UK. He has taught in Thailand and Saudi Arabia and now works with professionals worldwide.
