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
What was most difficult for me to digest was an untruth: finding out that one who professed to be a friend had said and done most unfriendly things behind one’s back.
From My Autobiography A Fragment by Müller, F. Max (Friedrich Max)
No, my son, say what you like about me, there's no forbidding anyone to talk; if they don't dare before one's face, they'll do it behind one's back.
From The Storm by Garnett, Constance
