skeleton in one's closet

plural skeletons in one's closet · plural skeletons in one's closets

1. alternativeAlternative form of skeleton in the closet.

   So, Betsy’s great. I’ve known her for a while, so trust me when I say there are no skeletons in her closets.

   2007, Kaelyn Christian, chapter 13, in Vegas Stakes, Baltimore, Md.: PublishAmerica, →ISBN, page 60

   4 more examples

   Could K⁠—⁠— have seen the fruits of that ‘sherry cobbler,’ that one drink, he might better have given me a potion of strychnine in its stead. I am an embodiment of the fruits of that one drink. The bottle has been the skeleton in my closet ever since.

   1871, Theo[dore] L[edyard] Cuyler, quoting a former resident of Ohio, “Preface”, in Julia McNair Wright, The Best Fellow in the World. His Haps and Mishaps. […], New York, N.Y.: National Temperance Society and Publication House, […], →OCLC, page 4

   "Humph!" she vouchsafed. Then, showing her old-time interest, she went on: "But, say, it is queer, his speakin' to you, honestly, Miss Pollyanna. He don't speak ter no one; and he lives all alone in a great big lovely house all full of jest grand things, they say. Some says he's crazy, and some jest cross; and some says he's got a skeleton in his closet."

   1913, Eleanor H. Porter, chapter 9, in Pollyanna, L.C. Page, →OCLC

   He knew enough about politics to know that the profession attracted some of the biggest narcissists imaginable. People who felt they were entitled. And, because they spent their lives feeling entitled, they usually had skeletons in their closets. He couldn’t even count how many scandals had broken out over the last decade or so, ruining the careers of promising politicians.

   2018, Peter Parkin, Alison Darby, chapter 13, in The Ascendant, Brockville, Ont.: Sands Press, published October 2019, →ISBN, page 102

   He’s also going to do a little digging on Matt Kline, find out if he’s got more skeletons in his closet. Anger issues, that sort of thing.

   2023, Stacy Green, chapter 12, in Bone Lake (Nikki Hunt; 8), London: Bookouture, →ISBN, page 100