[f. BACK a.] A large log placed at the back of the fire. (Chiefly in U.S.)
1684. I. Mather, Illustr. Provid., v. 115. The spit … came down with the point foremost, and stuck in the back-log.
1882. Howells, in Longm. Mag., I. 49. A back-log big enough to smoulder … for days.
1883. Ellen H. Rollins (‘E. H. Arr’), New Eng. Bygones, 63. Brightened by a roaring backlog.
