back of one's mind

back of (one's) mind

Referring to something that one thinks of, but with little or no conscious or active consideration or reflection. Despite my success at work, there's always this worry in the back of my mind that I'm doing something wrong. You don't need to do anything about it now—just keep it in the back of your mind going forward.
See also: back, mind, of
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

back of one's mind

The remote part of one's mind or memory, as in With the idea of quitting in the back of his mind, he turned down the next assignment. [c. 1900]
See also: back, mind, of
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
See also:
  • back of (one's) mind
  • in the back of (one's) mind
  • in the back of mind
  • at/in the back of your mind
  • out of consideration of (something)
  • out of consideration
  • consideration
  • in consideration of
  • in consideration of (something)
  • in consideration of something
References in classic literature
No human being can keep permanently afraid: fear goes at last to the back of one's mind, accepted, and shelved, and done with.
It is like walking into a dark room and totally surrendering to all the bumps and tumble, while at the same time, in the back of one's mind, wishing that a light would at any moment, be turned on to brighten your way.
There is beauty and delight in knowing how this capital and seat of power turned out to become the exact definition of beauty, when at the back of one's mind is how it would have turned out otherwise.
Coventry promoter Mick Horton said: "When I think of the position we are in, with no home stadium and with uncertainty at the back of one's mind, I then look at another club rich in history, and sadly in a similar situation to us.
She could be one to keep in the back of one's mind for a bumper at Punchestown in April.
As someone who gets nervous merely at the thought of cooking a simple meal for myself it's hard to imagine the intense pressure of maintaining world class dining standards with the threat of slipping a level always at the back of one's mind. It's true that stress brings out the best in us.
Given Delaney's attraction to the yellow/orange slice of the spectrum, it is hard not to have van Gogh's sunflowers somewhere in the back of one's mind as one absorbs his paintings' energy.
This is most apparent in a color palette that cannot be labeled artificial or natural, but instead suggests what might be found at the back of one's mind. Her work shares with other successful abstract painting a preoccupation with translating subjective, temporal experiences that defy quick interpretation.
Given the number of deaths on mountains, it always occupies a space in the back of one's mind. During the most difficult and dangerous times on mountains, I tend to think about survival and not death.
But there's always a slight doubt in the back of one's mind: after dedicating so many column inches to Tom Cruise and his Burj Khalifa antics: What if the film itself is not very good?
"It's hard to comprehend how one could concentrate whole-heartedly on beginning a career with monetary worries always in the back of one's mind.
"Often, it's a case of waiting for the right opportunity to realise an idea that's been at the back of one's mind for literally years.
It may be just a flash or a lingering thought in the back of one's mind, but stereotypes have an impression on us before the actual person does.
If we think about it, it requires an intellectual effort equal to the length of reflection to mentally picture a large amount of water instead of Saint-Tropez; to tell oneself that there is nothing but the sea where Saint-Tropez is; to chase away the photographic images in the back of one's mind. To chase away the lines of leaning houses, or the mythical allusions of glamorous, famous names, to substitute another, less familiar image: that of almost imperceptible waves when the wind is calm.
It may be in the back of one's mind or a premeditated plan just waiting for the right situation.