relationships B2 casual

air dirty laundry

/ɛər ˈdɜːrti ˈlɔːndri/

Meaning

This idiom means to discuss private, personal, or embarrassing grievances and secrets in public where other people can hear or see them. It is almost always used negatively, advising people to keep their private arguments or family problems behind closed doors. It can also be phrased as 'wash dirty linen in public'.

Examples

  • Please don't air our dirty laundry in front of our friends; let's talk about this at home.

    Please don't air our dirty laundry in front of our friends; let's talk about this at home.

  • The celebrity couple decided to air their dirty laundry on social media, shocking their fans.

    The celebrity couple decided to air their dirty laundry on social media, shocking their fans.

  • My family always believed that you shouldn't air your dirty laundry in public.

    My family always believed that you shouldn't air your dirty laundry in public.

  • They had a huge argument in the restaurant, airing their dirty laundry for everyone to hear.

    They had a huge argument in the restaurant, airing their dirty laundry for everyone to hear.

  • I don't want to air our dirty laundry, but we have been having some serious financial issues.

    I don't want to air our dirty laundry, but we have been having some serious financial issues.

Common Mistakes

  • ✗ They aired their dirty clothes on Facebook.

    ✓ They aired their dirty laundry on Facebook.

    The idiom specifically uses 'laundry' (or occasionally 'linen'), not 'clothes'.

  • ✗ He is washing his dirty laundry in public.

    ✓ He is airing his dirty laundry in public.

    While 'wash dirty linen in public' is a valid British variant, 'air dirty laundry' is the standard American/global idiom. Mixing them as 'wash dirty laundry' is less natural.

Related Expressions

keep things under wraps behind closed doors spill the beans

Practice

  • I hate when couples argue in public and ___ for everyone to see.

    💡 Expose private problems.

    Show answer

    air their dirty laundry

  • Let's not ___ in front of the kids; we can discuss this later in private.

    💡 Talking about private issues publicly.

    Show answer

    air our dirty laundry

#idioms #relationships #casualenglish #conflict