dirt file
- noun
- /dɜrt faɪl/
- Literature
:
archivo de suciedad
- Rumors spread quickly after a dirt file about the celebrity leaked online.
Examples
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The journalist kept a dirt file on several influential business leaders.
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Political rivals are always looking for any dirt file that could undermine their opponents.
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The journalist uncovered a dirt file on the politician.
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They compiled several dirt files against their rivals.
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Political rivals are always looking for any dirt file that could undermine their opponents.
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Rumors spread quickly after a dirt file about the celebrity leaked online.
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The journalist kept a dirt file on several influential business leaders.
Synonyms
135
4.8
Secret information that harms someone's reputation
74
7.4
A set of papers about a person or subject for official use
Secret facts that could make someone look bad if people know them
Antonyms
How Damaging
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'dirt' (harmful rumors or damaging information) with 'file' (a collection of documents): a file containing damaging information. This is a straightforward compositional pattern found in English (and mirrored in many languages), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Dirt file comes from the image of a physical file full of dirt, meaning 'secrets' or bad facts about someone. That's why a dirt file today means a collection of bad information kept to use against someone or to expose them.