Where needle might be taken in private? (3,3,6)
I believe the answer is:
off the record
'in private?' is the definition.
(off the record means unofficially or in private)
I can't explain the rest of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for off the record that I've seen before include "in a minute? No" , "not publicly aired" , "Taken from a disc" , "Unofficially" , "unprintable" .)