behind one's back
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There ought to be no shortage of candidates, despite the sense of having a hand tied behind one's back in taking on the responsibility.
From BBC • Jan. 14, 2026
General Richard Dannatt, head of the army from 2006 to last year, says a lack of resources had left the military conducting operations "with at least part of one arm tied behind one's back."
From Time • Apr. 8, 2010
The hardest of criminals will respond favorably to such treatment when genuine and done in the absence of a "big stick" behind one's back .
From Time Magazine Archive
How can one give faith to words spoken behind one's back?
From Hung Lou Meng, Book II Or, the Dream of the Red Chamber, a Chinese Novel in Two Books by Joly, H. Bencraft
Far more than an opportunity, a snopportunity was something to be snapped up quickly, the sort of thing that ordinarily happened behind one's back, usually discovered too late to be made use of.
From The Extra Day by Blackwood, Algernon
