skeleton in the closet
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A potentially embarrassing secret: “Before nominating the new judge, the committee asked him if he had any skeletons in the closet.”
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Words nearby skeleton in the closet
skeletal muscle, skeletal system, skeletal traction, skeleton, skeleton car, skeleton in the closet, skeletonize, skeleton key, skelf, skelic index, skell
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Example sentences from the Web for skeleton in the closet
Idioms and Phrases with skeleton in the closet
skeleton in the closet
A shameful secret, as in Both her parents were alcoholics; that was the skeleton in her closet. This metaphoric term alludes to a murder victim long concealed in a closet, possibly based on some true incident that is now forgotten. [Early 1800s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.