- Meaning
- This idiom refers to a hidden secret or shameful fact about someone’s past, kept concealed to avoid embarrassment or scandal, as if a skeleton is stashed away in a closet. It conveys the burden of undisclosed truths, often used in personal, familial, or public contexts to describe damaging revelations. The phrase carries a tone of mystery, guilt, or impending exposure, reflecting cultural values of privacy and the human tendency to conceal flaws. Its macabre imagery evokes secrecy and dread, resonating in scenarios like political scandals or family dramas. The idiom underscores the tension between truth and reputation, making it a haunting metaphor for the consequences of hidden pasts.
- Origin
- The phrase originated in 19th-century Britain, likely tied to Gothic literature’s fascination with hidden horrors, where literal skeletons symbolized buried crimes. Its earliest recorded use appears in William Makepeace Thackeray’s *The Newcomes* (1855), describing a family’s ‘skeleton in the closet.’ The idiom gained traction in Victorian England, a period obsessed with propriety, as seen in Charles Dickens’ *Bleak House* (1853), which used similar metaphors for secrets. Its spread was amplified in the 20th century through journalism and fiction, notably in Agatha Christie’s mysteries, where secrets unravel. Its adoption across English-speaking cultures, especially in the U.K., U.S., and Canada, stems from its eerie imagery and universal applicability to scandals and hidden truths.
- Variants
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- Skeleton in the cupboard
- Skeletons in the closet
- A skeleton in your closet
- Examples
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- The politician was ruined when a skeleton in the closet about his past came to light.
- She’s got a skeleton in her cupboard, but nobody knows what it is.
- Skeletons in the closet kept the family from discussing their grandfather’s history.
- A skeleton in your closet can haunt you when you least expect it.
- The company hid a skeleton in the closet about its unethical practices.
- He feared the media would uncover the skeleton in his closet from years ago.
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