Dirty laundry意思

"Dirty laundry" is an English idiom that refers to personal or private information, especially about someone's misdeeds, failures, or embarrassing secrets. The term is often used metaphorically to suggest the airing of such information, similar to the literal act of washing dirty laundry.

The phrase is commonly used in the context of gossip, media, or public scrutiny, where it implies the public disclosure of someone's private matters, typically for the purpose of causing embarrassment or damage to their reputation. It can also refer to the process of revealing such information, as in "to air one's dirty laundry."

For example, "The scandal revealed the politician's dirty laundry to the public." Or, "She decided not to air her dirty laundry in public and kept her personal issues private."

This idiom is derived from the literal act of washing clothes, where "dirty laundry" is the clothing that needs to be cleaned because it is soiled. The metaphorical use suggests that just as one would not want to display dirty laundry, one should also avoid publicly displaying personal problems or scandals.