skeletons in the closet

skeleton(s) in the closet
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skeleton in the/(one's) closet
An embarrassing or shameful secret. Primarily heard in US.
If you've got a skeleton in the closet, it will probably be exposed during this campaign.
He didn't believe me when I said that I didn't have any skeletons in my closet.
See also: closet, skeleton
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
skeleton(s) in the closet
a hidden and shocking secret. You can ask anyone about how reliable I am. I don't mind. I don't have any skeletons in the closet. My uncle was in jail for a day once. That's our family's skeleton in the closet.
See also: closet, skeleton
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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]
See also: closet, skeleton
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
a skeleton in the ;cupboard/;closet something shocking, embarrassing, etc. that has happened to you or your family in the past that you want to keep secret: The new presidential candidate is certainly popular, but does he have any skeletons in the closet?
See also: closet, cupboard, skeleton
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
skeleton in the closet, the
A shameful secret. This term likens a family secret to a murder victim hidden away in a closet or cupboard. If it ever was based on such an incident, the history has been lost. In any event, the metaphor became current in the early nineteenth century. Thackeray used it in several novels, as did Dickens, George Meredith, and other nineteenth-century British writers, and it remains current.
See also: skeleton
The Dictionary of Clich;s by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
skeleton in the closet
A hidden shame. As if hiding a murder victim or another object that would cause great distress to the hider if found, to have a skeleton in the closet is to have a secret of any sort that you don't want revealed.
See also: closet, skeleton
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price Copyright © 2011 by Steven D. Price
See also:
a skeleton in the closet
a skeleton in the cupboard/closet
skeleton in closet
skeleton in the closet, the
skeleton in the/(one's) closet
skeleton in the/(one's) cupboard
a skeleton in the cupboard

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come out of the closet
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
come out of the closet
1. Of a non-heterosexual person, to reveal one's sexuality after having kept it hidden.
Once you come out of the closet, you will feel so relieved.
2. To publicly reveal a secret.
After months of tabloid speculation, the young starlet has finally come out of the closet and confirmed her divorce.
See also: closet, come, of, out
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
come out of the closet
COMMON
1. If someone comes out of the closet, they tell people for the first time that they are gay. She felt that if she came out of the closet as a lesbian, she would be discriminated against. Note: People usually talk about homosexuals coming out, rather than coming out of the closet. I came out when I was still in my teens. Note: Closet is also used in other structures and expressions with a similar or opposite meaning. For example, if you talk about someone being forced back into the closet, you mean that they are being forced again to hide the fact that they are gay. The HIV Aids crisis threatened to push us all back into the closet. Note: You can also use closet before a noun in order to describe a person who hides the fact that they are gay. He was exposed as a closet homosexual. Note: `Out of the closet' was a slogan used by the Gay Liberation Front in the United States in the late 1960s.
2. If someone comes out of the closet, they talk openly about a belief or habit which they have kept secret until now. I suppose it's time I came out of the closet and admitted I'm a Labour supporter. Note: You can also use closet before a noun in order to describe a person who hides their beliefs, feelings, or habits. I'm really a closet greenie who likes to live close to nature.
3. When a subject comes out of the closet, it becomes widely known or openly discussed for the first time. `Prostate cancer came out of the closet,' he adds, `and men started to join self-help groups to talk openly about prostate problems.' Note: You can also say that you bring something out of the closet. The subject needs to be brought out of the closet and dealt with honestly.
See also: closet, come, of, out
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
come out of the ;closet admit something openly that you kept secret before, especially because of shame or embarrassment: Homosexuals in public life are now coming out of the closet.
See also: closet, come, of, out
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
come out of the closet
in. to appear publicly as a homosexual; to cease concealing one’s homosexuality. (The phrase has many nonsexual metaphorical meanings.) They say he came out of the closet when he was eight years old.
See also: closet, come, of, out
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
come out of the closet
Reveal one’s homosexuality. This term began to be widely used in the second half of the 1900s and also has been shortened to come out. It refers to the older usage, closet homosexual, that is, one who is well concealed. It is occasionally used in a nonsexual sense, as in “Cathy’s come out of the closet about her peanut-butter binges.”
See also: closet, come, of, out
The Dictionary of Clich;s by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
See also:
in the closet
come out to (someone)
cishet
heteroflexible