above-board

See also: aboveboard and above board

English

Alternative forms

• aboveboard, above board (adverb)

Etymology

above +‎ board (“table”). First attested in 1610. Said by Johnson to have been borrowed from gamblers, who, when they change their cards, put their hands under the table.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /əˈbʌvˌbɔɹd/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

above-board (not comparable)

1. In open sight; without trick, concealment, or deception. [First attested in the late 16^th century.]

   Fair and aboveboard.

   • 2013 May 15, Stephen Lemons, “Joe Arpaio's Fave Pay-triot John Philip Sousa IV Fires Back, Makes Bank Off Peddling Joe”, in Phoenix New Times‎^[1], archived from the original on 11 March 2019:

     Nothing illegal about any of this to my knowledge. Indeed, this is the very above-board racket of running an independent political committee. Everyone does it. Left, right, center and none of the above. And anyway, why shouldn't a true pay-triot get paid?

   • 2018 March 26, Maya Kosoff, “Zuckerberg hits users with the hard truth: You agreed to this”, in Vanity Fair‎^[2]:

     Over the weekend, Android owners were displeased to discover that Facebook had been scraping their text-message and phone-call metadata, in some cases for years, an operation hidden in the fine print of a user agreement clause until Ars Technica reported. Facebook was quick to defend the practice as entirely aboveboard—small comfort to those who are beginning to realize that, because Facebook is a free service, they and their data are by necessity the products.

Translations

straightforward, transparent

• Dutch: op eerlijke wijze, openlijk (nl)
• German: einwandfrei (de), ehrlich (de), offen (de), korrekt (de), (die Karten liegen) auf dem Tisch (idiom)
• Maori: matanui
• Spanish: legítimo (es)
• Ukrainian: чесний m (česnyj), відвертий m (vidvertyj)

Adverb

above-board (not comparable)

1. Honestly; openly. [First attested in the late 16^th century.]

Synonyms

• straightforward, transparent