1. a shameful and shocking secret that people try to keep hidden; a hidden and shocking secret

1. Janet was close to being elected until her opponent exposed the skeleton in her closet.

2. You can ask anyone about how reliable I am. I don’t mind. I don’t have any skeletons in the closet.

3. My uncle was in jail for a day once. That’s our family’s skeleton in the closet.

4. Almost everybody has a skeleton in the closet.