skeleton

Related to skeleton: skeleton key, skull, boilerplate, skeleton dance

have (a) skeleton(s) in (one's)/the closet

To have (an) embarrassing, unpleasant, damaging, or incriminating secret(s) from one's past. Primarily heard in US. Even the most seemingly perfect people have some pretty shocking skeletons in their closets. She has some skeletons in her closet that could ruin her chance at the presidency if the press were to find out about them. My agoraphobia has always been something of a skeleton in the closet for me.
See also: closet, have

have (a) skeleton(s) in (one's)/the cupboard

To have (an) embarrassing, unpleasant, damaging, or incriminating secret(s) from one's past. Primarily heard in UK. Even the most seemingly perfect people have some pretty shocking skeletons in their cupboards. She has some skeletons in her cupboard that could ruin her chance at the presidency if the press were to find out about them. My agoraphobia has always been something of a skeleton in the cupboard for me.
See also: cupboard, have

skeleton at the feast

One whose pessimistic outlook or behavior dampens the mood at a happy event. Don't invite Chris to your engagement party—he's always so gloomy and will just be a skeleton at the feast.
See also: feast, skeleton

skeleton crew

The bare minimum amount of employees necessary to keep an office, business, service, etc., running at a basic level. We can't have a restaurant that is completely closed during the slow season, so we keep a skeleton crew on board to serve the few customers who decide to come in. The rigs will have a skeleton crew keeping them running until the company finishes handing over its business to the new owners.
See also: crew, skeleton

skeleton in the/(one's) closet

An embarrassing or shameful secret. Primarily heard in US. If you've got a skeleton in the closet, it will probably be exposed during this campaign. He didn't believe me when I said that I didn't have any skeletons in my closet.
See also: closet, skeleton

skeleton in the/(one's) cupboard

An embarrassing or shameful secret. Primarily heard in UK, Australia. If you've got a skeleton in the cupboard, it will probably be exposed during this campaign. He didn't believe me when I said that I didn't have any skeletons in my cupboard.
See also: cupboard, skeleton
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

skeleton(s) in the closet

a hidden and shocking secret. You can ask anyone about how reliable I am. I don't mind. I don't have any skeletons in the closet. My uncle was in jail for a day once. That's our family's skeleton in the closet.
See also: closet, skeleton
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

skeleton in the closet

A shameful secret, as in Both her parents were alcoholics; that was the skeleton in her closet. This metaphoric term alludes to a murder victim long concealed in a closet, possibly based on some true incident that is now forgotten. [Early 1800s]
See also: closet, skeleton
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

a skeleton in the closet

BRITISH, AMERICAN or

a skeleton in the cupboard

BRITISH
COMMON If someone has a skeleton in the closet or a skeleton in the cupboard, they have a secret that would cause great embarrassment or shame if other people knew about it. But everybody's got vices, haven't they? There's always a skeleton in the closet somewhere. Note: This expression is variable. Show me somebody with no skeletons in their cupboard, and I'll show you a skilful liar.
See also: closet, skeleton
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

a skeleton in the cupboard

a discreditable or embarrassing fact that someone wishes to keep secret.
A US variant of this expression is a skeleton in the closet .
See also: cupboard, skeleton
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

a skeleton ˈcrew/ˈstaff/ˈservice

the minimum number of staff necessary to run an organization or service: At weekends we have a skeleton staff to deal with emergencies.
See also: crew, service, skeleton, staff

a skeleton in the ˈcupboard/ˈcloset

something shocking, embarrassing, etc. that has happened to you or your family in the past that you want to keep secret: The new presidential candidate is certainly popular, but does he have any skeletons in the closet?
See also: closet, cupboard, skeleton
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

skeleton in (one's) closet

A source of shame or disgrace, as in a family, that is kept secret.
See also: closet, skeleton
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.

skeleton in the closet, the

A shameful secret. This term likens a family secret to a murder victim hidden away in a closet or cupboard. If it ever was based on such an incident, the history has been lost. In any event, the metaphor became current in the early nineteenth century. Thackeray used it in several novels, as did Dickens, George Meredith, and other nineteenth-century British writers, and it remains current.
See also: skeleton
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer

skeleton in the closet

A hidden shame. As if hiding a murder victim or another object that would cause great distress to the hider if found, to have a skeleton in the closet is to have a secret of any sort that you don't want revealed.
See also: closet, skeleton
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price
See also:
  • have (a) skeleton(s) in (one's)/the closet
  • have (a) skeleton(s) in (one's)/the cupboard
  • come to a bad end
  • come to a bad/sticky end
  • deep, dark secret
  • the goods on
  • the goods on (someone or something)
  • about last night...
  • fall out with (someone) about (something)
  • be not above (doing something)
References in periodicals archive
He said the skeleton was later sent to Seberang Jaya Hospital's Forensic Department for further action.
Human skeleton found in building in Penang
Rwanda Investigation Bureau and police are investigating the cause of the person's death and how the skeleton ended up here,' he said.
Human skeleton dumped at Muhanga petrol station
Caloocan chief investigator Police Inspector Joe Mar Ronquillo yesterday said they are awaiting the DNA test on the skeleton to determine if the remains belong to a male or female.
Teens find skeleton in Caloocan
Generally, the animation of human 3D characters is found in the articulated shape of the model, represented as a skeleton. To identify, the exact location of skeleton joints is a well study problem in computer animation.
ROBUST KINEMATIC SKELETON OF HUMAN 3D MODEL IN VIEWING STRAIGHT LIMBS
Sami Campagnano shared images of the skeletons on her neighbor's front lawn via Twitter on Tuesday, Oct.
LOOK: Halloween skeletal decorations of Florida home will tickle your funny bone
Police suspect that the skeleton belonged to an abducted child kidnapped from Sohrab Goth area last month.
Skeleton of boy found
An eyewitness told Pakistan Today that the skeleton was found in a water tank that has been dysfunctional for the past 15 years.
Human skeleton discovered in Gujranwala water tank
The remains of human skeletons and mixed materialswere discoveredat a depth of 40 centimetersduring the excavationsat Nargizava necropolis.
Human skeletons found during excavations in Agsu
Yun dominated the 2017-18 Skeleton World Cup season and made a name for himself as one of the top skeleton sliders, racking up five gold and two silver medals prior to the PyeongChang Olympics.
PyeongChang star: Yun Sung-bin, 1st Asian to win sliding medal
That situation recently changed, however, thanks to the significant finding of paleontologist Andrej eransky from Comenius University and others."I received information from the cave administration of Demrnovska dolina that that a small skeleton was located in the ceiling of one of the inaccessible caves," explained Andrej eransky, as quoted from the press release.
Slovak paleontologist discovers oldest vertebrate in Slovakia
Whistler, Canada, November 12, 2017 --(PR.com)-- As Official Floral Partner to Bobsleigh CANADA Skeleton, Bloomex will be providing all florals for the BMW IBSF World Cup being hosted in Whistler, BC on November 24-25.
Bloomex Provides All Florals for the BMW IBSF World Cup 2017/2018 in Whistler, BC
Islamabad -- The Police has recovered human skeleton near the residence of federal minister for CAAD Dr.
Police recovers human skeleton near CAAD Minister's residence
In 1987, a blue whale washed ashore in PEI and in 2007, her skeleton was transported 6,000 kilometres and reassembled for display at the new Beaty Biodiversity Museum in BC.
Big Blue Forever: The Story of Canada's Largest Blue Whale Skeleton
THE newest exhibit at the Natural History Museum is a skeleton of a blue whale, although it's not clear how they know it was blue if it's just bones now.
Hope the skeleton won't fall down; ADVERTISING FEATURE in association with