IRREDIOMS ~ A look at common idioms
2009-04-15 / Irregular Regulars
Phrases, sayings & expressions, what they mean & where they came from
Air Your Dirty Laundry in Public To talk about your private disagreements or embarrassing matters in public, usually while quarreling.
Picture this: instead of hanging your freshly washed laundry on a clothesline, you hang your dirty clothes out there in the air for all the world to see. Wouldn't that be embarrassing? Imagine that your "dirty laundry" represents secret personal matters and that to "air" them means to discuss them out loud for anyone to hear. Some people use "air your dirty linen in public."
The couple take their arguments with them wherever they go, airing their dirty laundry in public. (From the "Dictionary of Idioms," Marvin Terban, Scholastic Inc., publisher, 1996)
