English

Adjective

under-the-counter

1. Illicit, obtained or sold furtively.

   The village shop seemed to be a bastion of respectability but those in the know could obtain some very questionable under-the-counter material.

   • 1962 United States Congressional Serial Set by United States Government Printing Office

     The frequency of under-the-counter selling is most difficult to ascertain.

   • 1973, Robert Wallace Winslow, Crime in a Free Society: Selections from the President's Commission on Law

     Traffic and distribution of under-the-counter materials appears to be a very minor ... The total market in under-the-counter materials is estimated to be ...

   • 1988, Gordon Hawkins and Franklin E. Zimring, Pornography in a Free Society,

     of material classified as "under-the-counter" was being openly exhibited and openly sold.

Translations

Related terms

• under the counter