skeleton in the closet

Noun

skeleton in the closet (plural skeletons in the closet or skeletons in the closets)

1. (US, idiomatic) A shameful secret.
   • "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...1913, Eleanor H. Porter, chapter 9, in Pollyanna, L.C. Page, →OCLC
   • 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.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...

   Synonyms:

   skeleton in the cupboard, skeleton in the house