to air dirty laundry
- idiom
- Informal
:
sacar trapos sucios
- She told me that any work about Indian disagreements would just air dirty laundry and embarrass the descendants of those people.
There are ways to air dirty laundry that aren't defamatory.
- There are ways to air dirty laundry that aren't defamatory.
Examples
-
During the meeting, she was careful not to air dirty laundry, respecting her family's privacy.
-
There are ways to air dirty laundry that aren't defamatory.
-
It is not wise to air dirty laundry in front of strangers; it's better to keep personal matters private.
-
He prefers to resolve issues quietly instead of airing dirty laundry for everyone to see.
Synonyms
164
4.5
To reveal secret information, often by mistake
18
6.0
Tell a secret by accident before others know
8
6.8
Reveal secret information that shocks people
6
7.8
To talk too much and tell secrets carelessly
5
8.1
To tell someone your private feelings or secrets openly
5
5.1
To tell a secret that should be kept
2
7.3
To reveal too much personal information to other people
1
8.5
To tell private or bad things about someone to other people
1
7.9
To tell a secret carelessly or without meaning to
To talk about private, embarrassing things in front of other people
To talk about private, embarrassing problems in public
Antonyms
How Public
81
3.0
- Informal
7
3.4
∞
1.6
76
2.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'air' (to make public) combined with the image 'dirty laundry' (literally soiled clothes) creates a conventional metaphor for exposing private or embarrassing matters; the verb component is transparent but the metaphorical shift of 'dirty laundry' to mean personal secrets is not purely compositional. Because understanding the full idiomatic sense relies on recognizing this cultural metaphor (even though many languages have a similar 'dirty laundry/linen' motif), a B1 learner who only knows the literal words may not reliably infer the exact meaning without prior exposure.
Etymology
Air dirty laundry may come from the image of hanging dirty laundry out in the air to dry so everyone can see the stains. That's why the phrase means 'to talk about private or embarrassing things in public'.