underhanded
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Puzzle #120 · September 29, 2025
Secretly doing something nefarious, likely coming from the idea of hiding something in one’s hand or by turning the hand over. By contrast doing something aboveboard means doing it out in the open. Gamblers who were not aboveboard did underhanded things, or things under the board or table.
Puzzle Appearances
The expression underhanded has appeared in 1 puzzle:
- Puzzle #120 on September 29, 2025
Rate of Appearance in English Language Print
Google's Ngram project shows how often a pair of words has appeared in print every year since the 1800's.
Data from Google Books Ngram Viewer. Licensed under CC BY 3.0.
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