lowdownlowdown means unfair; scoundrelly; shameful.EtymologyCompound adjective of low + down in the sense of "humble" recorded in the 1540s, in the sense of "vulgar, far down the social scale" in 1888. Recorded as a noun in 1915 in the slang sense of secret or inside information.adjUnfair; scoundrelly; shameful.“lowdown tactics”seedy, sketchy, disreputable“So there I was, in the front row of course (it was my reportorial duty), with a bunch of gay men and straight women. And we're all involved in a lowdown — but eminently "Safe" — celebration of the erotic possibilities of the male body.”down low; purporting to be heterosexual while engaged in sex with men.advUnfairly; dishonourably; in a deceitful or mean manner.““I say, that’s playing it a bit low down,” I protested.”nouninside information, the story or truth.“All the reporters hoped to be the first to get the lowdown on the celebrity's marriage plans.”A lowlife, a despicable person.