back alley
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.
In a damp back alley, Jingjing joined job-seekers milling about leisurely, haggling for higher wages while garment bosses perched on scooters brandished hiring signs, desperate for day labourers.
From Barron's • May 6, 2026
The latter here is represented via a large puppet created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, and the walk-through experience will take us from taverns to the back alley of a marketplace to the beholder’s lair.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2025
“We can play a defensive game if we have to. And I think we can play a back alley game, too.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2025
Shawn Younker, incarcerated in Pennsylvania, writes, “We might as well be rummaging the dusty old leftovers in some thrift store or back alley dumpster.”
From Slate • Sep. 17, 2024
Billy drove his Cadillac down a back alley in Ilium, and he found his way blocked by dozens of boys and their bicycles.
From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
![]()