English Idiom – A skeleton in the cupboard.
A secret from the past that would be embarrassing or shocking if people found out.
Picture a perfectly normal British family having a cup of tea on a Sunday afternoon. Everyone is smiling, the biscuits are out, the dog is fast asleep on the rug. And in the cupboard under the stairs, behind the hoover and the wellies, there’s a skeleton with its finger to its lips, saying “shh”. That’s a skeleton in the cupboard: something from the past that someone would really rather nobody found out about.
It isn’t usually a crime. More often it’s something embarrassing: a terrible haircut in old photos, a failed business, a scandal from years ago. The idiom has been used in English since the 1800s, and it’s still everywhere today, especially in newspaper stories about politicians and celebrities.
How to Use It
- have a skeleton in the cupboard: “Everyone seems to think he’s perfect, but I bet he has a skeleton in the cupboard.”
- skeletons in the cupboard (plural, very common): “Every family has a few skeletons in the cupboard.”
- skeletons in someone’s cupboard: “The newspapers went looking for skeletons in her cupboard.”
- dig up or find skeletons: “Reporters dug up a few skeletons from his student days.”
It’s a little bit dramatic, so it works well for jokes too: “Don’t look at my old school photos. Total skeleton in the cupboard.”
Cupboard or Closet?
This is one of those British and American differences. Brits say a skeleton in the cupboard. Americans say a skeleton in the closet, because in American English a closet is a cupboard you keep clothes in. Thanks to American films and TV, plenty of Brits say “closet” too, and everyone understands both.
And if you’re wondering which cupboard, every British home has one perfect hiding place: the cupboard under the stairs. It’s where the hoover, the coats and the old wellies live (and, if you’ve read Harry Potter, where Harry slept for eleven years).
Example:
- “Every family has a few skeletons in the cupboard.”
- “Before the election, journalists searched for skeletons in his cupboard.”
- “Grandad finally told us about his skeleton in the cupboard: he was once banned from a bowling club!”
- “She’s so honest. I don’t think she has any skeletons in the cupboard.”
More family idioms: the black sheep of the family and let sleeping dogs lie (good advice if you find a skeleton). Getting ready for Halloween? Try our Halloween vocabulary, the phrasal verb dress up and speak of the devil.
Learn More
Look it upA skeleton in the cupboard – Cambridge DictionaryCambridge DictionaryWhat is an idiom?
An idiom is a word or phrase that is not taken literally. An idiom is an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its individual words, but has a separate meaning of its own.
Frequently Asked Questions
It means a secret from someone’s past that would be embarrassing or shocking if other people found out about it.
Both are correct. “Skeleton in the cupboard” is the British version and “skeleton in the closet” is the American one. Thanks to American films and TV, many Brits use “closet” too.
Yes, and it is very common: “Every family has a few skeletons in the cupboard.” You can also say “skeletons in his cupboard” or “skeletons in her closet”.
Test Yourself
🎃 More Halloween English: 10 Halloween idioms · Halloween vocabulary · dress up · give someone the creeps · jump out of your skin · a ghost town
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