Word.ws English Dictionary

on the q.t.

on the q.t. is the alternative form of on the Q.T..

Prepositional phrase capitalized: on the Q.T.

  1. (idiomatic) Quietly; in a secretive manner; clandestinely.
    • Will you be so kind as to impress him with the fact that this expedition is on the Q.T.? Not that I think he will say anythin'.1910, Harold MacGrath, chapter 12, in A Splendid Hazard
    • [R]ound up some of our friends on the q.t. Don't let Brill get a notion of what's in the air.1911, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 24, in Mavericks

Forms of on the q.t.

alternative formon the qt
alternative formon the QT
alternative formon the q.t.

Origin of on the q.t.

Slang for "on the quiet," attested from 1874.

Questions about on the q.t.

What does on the q.t. mean?
On the q.t. means quietly; in a secretive manner; clandestinely.
What is on the q.t. the alternative form of?
On the q.t. is the alternative form of on the Q.T..
What part of speech is on the q.t.?
On the q.t. is a prepositional phrase.

Words near on the q.t. in the dictionary

  1. on the point of
  2. on the premises
  3. on the prod
  4. on the prowl
  5. on the pull
  6. on the q.t.
  7. on the qt
  8. on the quarter
  9. on the qui vive
  10. on the quiet
  11. on the rack

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: on the q.t. (page history and authors); on the Q.T. (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-on the Q.T..ogg.

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