back channel
noun
: a secret, unofficial, or irregular means of communication
back-channel
ˈbak-ˌcha-nᵊl 
adjective 
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Through a back channel with his former law clerk Phil Elman, now a lawyer in the Solicitor General’s office, the justice persuaded the Eisenhower administration to express support for gradual desegregation. 
John Fabian Witt, The New Republic, 26 Aug. 2022 Henry Kissinger used to meet regularly with Putin as a back channel. Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2022 Presumably, some furtive Christian network or back channel had provided the information. James Wood, The New Yorker, 24 Jan. 2022 Abramovich reportedly hasn’t been sanctioned yet by the US because of his role as a potential back channel between Kyiv and Moscow. Casey Michel, CNN, 26 Apr. 2022 Nixon was relying on Yahya as a back channel to the Chinese. Washington Post, 15 Apr. 2022 Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at the weekend that, to his knowledge, there was a diplomatic back channel between Mr. Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Thomas Grove, WSJ, 28 Mar. 2022 And moreover, President Kennedy assigned his brother, the Attorney General, Bobby Kennedy, to open up a back channel line of communication through the Soviet ambassador in Washington. CBS News, 23 Mar. 2022 In fact, the Pentagon has set up a back channel communication line with Russia to clear up misunderstandings between the two nuclear-armed countries. Realpolitik. Zachary B. Wolf, CNN, 5 Mar. 2022 See More
John Fabian Witt, The New Republic, 26 Aug. 2022 Henry Kissinger used to meet regularly with Putin as a back channel. Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2022 Presumably, some furtive Christian network or back channel had provided the information. James Wood, The New Yorker, 24 Jan. 2022 Abramovich reportedly hasn’t been sanctioned yet by the US because of his role as a potential back channel between Kyiv and Moscow. Casey Michel, CNN, 26 Apr. 2022 Nixon was relying on Yahya as a back channel to the Chinese. Washington Post, 15 Apr. 2022 Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at the weekend that, to his knowledge, there was a diplomatic back channel between Mr. Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Thomas Grove, WSJ, 28 Mar. 2022 And moreover, President Kennedy assigned his brother, the Attorney General, Bobby Kennedy, to open up a back channel line of communication through the Soviet ambassador in Washington. CBS News, 23 Mar. 2022 In fact, the Pentagon has set up a back channel communication line with Russia to clear up misunderstandings between the two nuclear-armed countries. Realpolitik. Zachary B. Wolf, CNN, 5 Mar. 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
1975, in the meaning defined above