down low—
1. (coll.) secret or private:
- Their eye contact seems to indicate that there may have been a little down low action going on between the two.
2. (sl.) is used of married men who secretly engage in homosexual activities:
- Some down low men consider themselves monogamous if they only sleep with one man.
low down—
1. despicable; deserving of contempt or scorn:
- Only low-down cowards post under other people’s names. If you don’t have the guts to post something under your own name, don’t even bother.
2. gloomy; depressed:
- Sellman was definitely in a low down mood today. He made a mess with the police, his clients and his family.
3. ( Jazz) blues or pop music that has a very strong, repeated bass part:
- He allowed Handy to pursue it only if he didn’t get involved in what his parents called “that low-down” music—ragtime and blues.