Expression of the Fortnight - 2

TO HAVE A SKELETON IN THE CUPBOARD

This colloquial expression refers to a dark, embarassing secret that we don't want other people to know about! If other people discovered our skeleton, it could have a negative effect on our life. The secret can be something scandalous that we have done in the past. (In American English they say a skeleton in the closet)

If you want to be a successful politician, you can't have too many skeletons in your cupboard.

Every family has got one or two skeletons in the cupboard.

It has been suggested that the origin of this expression lies with the medical profession. In the past, doctors were not allowed to work on dead bodies for research unless they were the bodies of executed criminals. Therefore, bodies for research were hard to find and so when a doctor managed to get hold of one he would keep the skeleton for further research. It was not publicly acceptable for doctors to display these skeletons for everyone to see so they had to hide them away. The most obvious place for storage was of course a cupboard or a closet and that is where this expression comes from.