dirty laundry
22
5.3
- noun
- /ˈdɜrti ˈlɔndri/
- Informal
:
trapos sucios
- My take is this: every family has some dirty laundry. Mine does.
- airing dirty laundry
We are raised to not air our dirty laundry, so to speak.
- We are raised to not air our dirty laundry, so to speak.
- So how many of you have ever had a family tell you to not air The Dirty laundry?
Examples
-
We are raised to not air our dirty laundry, so to speak.
-
In blogging, there is a fine line between airing our dirty laundry, complaining, and telling the real story.
Blog text (32) -
We had no idea that dirty laundry was involved until it was too late.
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What an opportunity now to hang out all the dirty laundry for everyone to see.
Blog text (13) -
We have some dirty laundry that needs to be addressed.
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You don't air your dirty laundry at work.
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I hate the fact that entertainment news is basically just celebrity dirty laundry aired for the whole nation.
Blog text (15) -
You know, we shouldn't have aired the dirty laundry in public.
Academic text (2006) -
The admin has more than enough dirty laundry to give fodder for posts in threads.
Blog text (18) -
It's not wise to share your dirty laundry with your friends, as it can harm your relationships.
Synonyms
135
4.8
Secret information that harms someone's reputation
95
3.0
Gossip about people's private lives that embarrasses them
3
6.4
A secret from someone's past that can cause shame
1
7.9
Private family or personal matters that embarrass people if the public finds out
Secret facts that could make someone look bad if people know them
How Embarrassing
- Literature
564
2.8
- Informal
3
6.4
- Informal
22
5.3
32
2.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
dirty + laundry
The constituents 'dirty' (shameful/soiled) and 'laundry' (personal clothes) give a clear metaphorical cue that something personal is morally or socially 'soiled', but the exact meaning 'personal secrets or scandals' is an idiomatic extension that is not fully predictable from the words alone. A B1 learner who knows both words might guess the expression refers to some kind of personal mess, but would likely need exposure to confirm the conventional sense 'private scandals', so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
The phrase dirty laundry comes from the simple image of dirty clothes (the laundry) you wash at home and keep hidden. If someone shows those clothes in public, everyone can see the stains, so dirty laundry came to mean 'personal secrets' or 'embarrassing private matters'.