second pair back
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
The back room on the floor two flights of stairs above the ground floor; similarly the front room is called the second pair front.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “second pair back” mean?
The back room on the floor two flights of stairs above the ground floor; similarly the front room is called the second pair front.
Is “second pair back” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.