57: In the Closet Feb 3, 2015
Every
language has its idioms, and English is no exception. Some are surely
bewildering to foreign speakers, idioms such as "the cats pajamas". What
will be covered today is the metaphoric 'closet', in the sense of "a
state of secrecy or concealment, esp. about one's homosexuality".
The term 'closet' was not always used to mean simply a cupboard or wardrobe. The original sense was a small private room, such as one for study or prayer. It is this sense of privacy and seclusion which led to the idea of hiding a fact or keeping something secret, which goes right back to the beginning of the 17th century. A person who is keeping his or her homosexuality a secret from others, therefore, is described "as in the closet", or as "a closet homosexual".
The term 'closet' was not always used to mean simply a cupboard or wardrobe. The original sense was a small private room, such as one for study or prayer. It is this sense of privacy and seclusion which led to the idea of hiding a fact or keeping something secret, which goes right back to the beginning of the 17th century. A person who is keeping his or her homosexuality a secret from others, therefore, is described "as in the closet", or as "a closet homosexual".