backroom negotiation
1
7.4
- noun
- /ˈbækˌrum nɪˌɡoʊʃiˈeɪʃən/
- Literature
- Amid growing tensions, the leaders held a backroom negotiation to work out a compromise that would avoid a public fallout.
Examples
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Reports indicate that crucial decisions were made during a backroom negotiation between the union representatives and management.
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Man, I wish I were a fly on the wall of the backroom negotiations that convinced Roberts to vote for the tax argument and Kennedy to vote against it!
Blog text (3) -
The two companies engaged in a backroom negotiation to finalize the merger without drawing public attention.
Synonyms
434
2.3
Official discussions between groups to reach an agreement
123
2.9
Talking and agreeing about a deal to get a better price or conditions
6
3.4
A discussion about the price of something, often in a market, to reach an agreement
6
8.1
A discussion between enemies to try to reach an agreement or peace
4
5.2
Tough negotiation where both sides give up things to reach a deal
2
4.1
The activity of negotiating and arranging agreements in business or politics
1
6.6
A secret meeting held in private to hide plans, often for illegal reasons
A private meeting where people make important decisions away from the public
How Private
- Literature
1
7.4
- Formal
678
3.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
backroom + negotiation
The meaning 'a secretive or behind-the-scenes discussion' is directly inferable from combining 'back' + 'room' with 'negotiation' — literally a negotiation held in a back room, which implies privacy and informality. This compositional sense (private/hidden meeting = secretive deal) is common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would likely understand the MWE.
Etymology
The phrase backroom negotiation comes from the image of people meeting in a quiet back room away from the public to talk and make a deal, and negotiation means a talk to reach an agreement. That's why it now means a 'secret' or 'behind-the-scenes' discussion to 'make decisions'.