Put one's business on the street
Meaning
To reveal personal or private matters publicly, often indiscreetly.
Origin
Imagine a bustling 20th-century marketplace, where shopkeepers carefully guard their ledgers, their family squabbles, and their financial dealings behind closed doors. To literally take your 'business'—meaning your private affairs, not just your commercial enterprise—and lay it out on the noisy, public street for every passerby to scrutinize was unthinkable. It meant a complete abandonment of discretion, an invitation for gossip and judgment. The phrase captures this vivid image, transforming the private realm into a public spectacle, where sensitive information is recklessly exposed, turning personal secrets into common, cheapened knowledge for all the world to see and discuss.
Examples
- I wish he wouldn't put his business on the street like that; everyone in the office knows about his financial troubles now.
- She was upset when her sister put their family arguments on the street during the holiday dinner.