Under the Table

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🗓️ Idiom: Under the Table (adv)

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💬 Meaning

• Done secretly and often illegally, especially in business or financial situations.
• A way of doing something unofficially to avoid taxes, rules, or attention.

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🧠 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.

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🏛️ 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.

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📝 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.

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ℹ️ Other Useful Pages

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