dirty laundry

English

Pronunciation

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Noun

dirty laundry (uncountable)

1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see dirty,‎ laundry.

   If you bring your dirty laundry round on Saturday, I'll wash it for you.

2. (idiomatic) Unflattering or embarrassing facts, or questionable activities that one wants to remain secret, but which someone else may use as blackmail.

   If you don't tell me why you did it, I'll air all your dirty laundry to your boss.

   • 2017, David Montgomery, Thoughts on the Abundant Life, page 337:

     Look, we all have trouble in our lives but most of us aren't hanging our dirty laundry out there for the whole world to see.

3. (metonymically) A clothes hamper or other container in which soiled laundry is placed.

   Place your dirty clothes in the dirty laundry.

Synonyms

• dirty washing

Derived terms

• air one's dirty laundry in public
• wash one's dirty laundry in public

 

Translations

unflattering facts or questionable activities

• Finnish: likapyykki (fi)
• French: linge sale (fr) m
• German: dreckige Wäsche f, schmutzige Wäsche f
• Hungarian: szennyes (hu)
• Polish: brudy (pl) m pl
• Russian: гря́зное бельё n (grjáznoje belʹjó)
• Spanish: trapitos sucios m pl, trapos sucios m pl
• Swedish: smutsig byk c
• Turkish: kirli çamaşır (tr)

laundry that is unclean or soiled

• Finnish: likapyykki (fi)
• German: Schmutzwäsche (de) f, schmutzige Wäsche f, dreckige Wäsche f
• Hungarian: szennyes (hu), szennyes ruha
• Russian: гря́зное бельё n (grjáznoje belʹjó)
• Swedish: smutstvätt (sv) c
• Turkish: kirli çamaşır (tr)

a clothes hamper or other container used to place unclean or soiled laundry

• Finnish: likapyykki (fi)
• German: Korb für schmutzige Wäsche m
• Hungarian: szennyesláda (hu), szennyestartó
• Swedish: tvättkorg (sv) c
• Turkish: kirli sepeti

See also

• dirty linen