skeleton in the closet
Appearance
English
[edit]
Alternative forms
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Audio (General Australian): (file)
Noun
[edit]skeleton in the closet (plural skeletons in the closet or skeletons in the closets)
- (US, idiomatic) A shameful secret.
- 1913, Eleanor H. Porter, chapter 9, in Pollyanna[1], L.C. Page, →OCLC:
- "Humph!" she vouchsafed. Then, showing her old-time interest, she went on: "But, say, it is queer, his speakin' to you, honestly, Miss Pollyanna. He don't speak ter no one; and he lives all alone in a great big lovely house all full of jest grand things, they say. Some says he's crazy, and some jest cross; and some says he's got a skeleton in his closet."
- 2016, Phil Valentine, “Compromising Position”, in The Conservative’s Handbook: Defining the Right Position on Issues from A to Z, Naperville, Ill.: Cumberland House, →ISBN, chapter 3 (Character is the single most important attribute in a leader), page 35:
- I think it’s safe to say that the skeletons in the closets of some lawmakers corrupted the process, making an even stronger case for why a politician’s character is so important.
Synonyms
[edit]- skeleton in the cupboard (UK), skeleton in the house (UK, dated)
Translations
[edit]shameful secret — see skeleton in the cupboard
Further reading
[edit]skeleton in the closet on Wikipedia.Wikipedia