dirty linen
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of dirty linen
First recorded in 1945–50
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Another complication for your friend: The probate process is public, the legal equivalent of washing your dirty linen in the front yard.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 3, 2025
The Duke of Sussex has said his "conscience is clear" following his revealing memoir Spare, and that he did not air his "dirty linen in public."
From BBC • Sep. 15, 2025
"It is still very much a work in progress. An awful lot has been said between the two. So much dirty linen has been put out in the public, so to speak."
From Fox News • Jul. 2, 2021
Such exposés tarnish the whole community, and are regarded by many as washing the community’s dirty linen in public.
From The New Yorker • Jul. 22, 2019
The large woman was apologetic, as though it embarrassed her for a stranger to see Mississippi’s dirty linen.
From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
