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.
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.
