Meaning
Happening out of public view, especially in the private workings of an organization, production or negotiation; also used attributively as 'behind-the-scenes' for documentaries and accounts revealing how things were really done. It contrasts whatever is hidden with the polished result the audience or public actually sees. Neutral register; often implies privileged access or hidden effort, sometimes with a hint of intrigue. Regional use: General English (theatrical origin).
Origin
A direct theatrical image, and the 17th-century dating holds up. The 'scenes' were the painted stage scenery, and what went on behind it, actors waiting in the shadows, stagehands hauling flats and props, was invisible to the house. Etymonline dates the literal backstage use to the 1660s and the figurative sense, having knowledge of affairs not apparent to the public, to 1748; Dictionary.com records the idiom from 1660-70, and its American Heritage Idioms note explains the term as alluding to the activities carried on behind the curtain in theatres, out of the audience's view. Ammer dates the 'in secret, in private' usage to the late 1700s, so the slide from 'backstage' to 'privately, out of sight' was complete within about a century of the first records.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- backstage
- behind the curtain
- behind the scenes of
- behind-the-scenes (adjective)
Usage Examples
- Months of behind-the-scenes negotiation preceded the surprise merger announcement.
- The documentary goes behind the scenes of the national baking contest, flour dust and all.
- While the judges deliberated, coordinators were busy behind the scenes shuffling the running order.