- 1檯面下的、私底下（偷偷）交易的；黑市的（付錢的情況也可說「私下給錢」）
Under-the-counter means bought or sold secretly, usually because the sale is against the law, or against the rules, or would someone. The picture behind it is a shop: the legal goods sit on the counter where everyone can see them, and the other things are kept below, out of sight, handed over quietly to the right customer. It is used for black-market goods, medicine sold without a prescription, banned books, and also for money paid quietly so that nobody records it. As an adjective it usually sits before the noun and takes — under-the-counter payments, an under-the-counter deal. As an adverb phrase it drops the and follows the verb: he sold them under the counter. The tone is more knowing than shocked; people often say it with a slight smile, about small dishonest things rather than serious crime.
under-the-counter 指私下買賣的東西，通常是因為違法、違反規定，或是會讓人難堪。它的畫面來自商店：合法的商品擺在檯面上，大家看得到；其他的東西收在檯面下，悄悄交給對的客人。所以它常用來形容黑市商品、沒有處方的藥、被禁的書，也可以指悄悄付的錢。
當形容詞用時，它放在名詞前面，要加連字號，格式是「under-the-counter ＿＿」，例如「an under-the-counter deal」。當副詞片語用時，它不加連字號，放在動詞後面，例如「he sold them under the counter」，格式是「sell ＿＿ under the counter」。
這個字的語氣比較像是心照不宣，而不是震驚；說的時候常帶著一點笑意，多半用來講一些小的不誠實行為，而不是嚴重犯罪。
組成A phrase used as one word: under + the + counter. The counter is the shop table you pay at, from Old French conteor, a place for counting money. Goods kept under it are goods kept out of sight.
同家族的字
- countcounter as a shop table comes from counting money
- underhandsame under- picture of something done out of sight
原始詞典資料1 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，摘錄並精簡格式，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
under-the-counteradj
- 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.
- The frequency of under-the-counter selling is most difficult to ascertain.
摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary，已精簡格式；依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用，改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。