closet adj.
1. of being homosexual, secret, clandestine, hidden.
![[US]](/static/img/flags/us.png "United States") | in Cressey & Ward Delinquency, Crime, and Social Process (1969) 994: In the organized ‘gay world,’ they are known as ‘closet fags’. | |
| Queens’ Vernacular 48: closeted [in the closet] refusing to associate with known gays for fear of being discovered. | |
| ‘Neither Prophet nor Salvation’ in Jay & Young (1979) 417: They have a number of closeted gay friends like themselves. | |
| Further Tales of the City (1984) 40: It must’ve been a bitch, staying closeted all these years. | |
| Life and Times of Little Richard 195: All of you secret servers and closet folk. | |
| (ref. to 1960) in Walking After Midnight (1989) 87: Usually, if you met somebody who was gay and butch, they were very uptight, closety types. | |
![[UK]](/static/img/flags/uk.png "United Kingdom") | letter 22 Mar. Smiling in Slow Motion (2000) 102: The Times was pushing me to say I thought all closeted stars should be Outed. | |
| Foetal Attraction (1994) 186: Oh yes. Closet gay. I should have guessed when he got into bed with the jar of Vaseline. | |
| Indep. 19 July 9: Their officious madam, Paul, has a boyfriend who’s a closeted England under-21 footballer. | |
| ‘Jungletown Jihad’ in Destination: Morgue! (2004) 352: He humps homos. They’re closet clowns in deep cover. | |
![[Aus]](/static/img/flags/aus.png "Australia") | Stoning 131: ‘[H]e’s probably a closet bender himself, all teachers are, benders or paedos’. |
2. in non-homosexual contexts.
| Semi-Tough 111: Because I like country music so much, Puddin calls me his ‘closet red neck’ . | |
| Come Monday Morning 144: Be a closet drinker? Lay out in your barn dead ass drunk two-three days atta time? | |
![[SA]](/static/img/flags/sa.png "South Africa") | N.Y. Times 29 Oct. n.p.: I just think we are seeing closet racism coming out into the open [R]. | |
| Alice in La-La Land (1999) 53: He was a middle-aged closet pervert [i.e. a transvestite] from over in the Valley. | |
| Mad mag. Apr. 7: For all I know she may have been a closet bondage freak and got turned on by the abuse. | |
| Reach 40: I’m obviously a closet straight. | |
![[WI]](/static/img/flags/wi.png "West Indies") | Jamaica Star 18 May 🌐 The Centre for the Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse [...] plans to release the names of [...] people who are closet predators. |
In derivatives
(gay) the hiding of one’s real sexuality by a homosexual.
| Rushes (1981) 117: Well fuckeroo if that wasn’t a tribute to closetry. |
In compounds
1. (US campus) a socially inept, unattractive person; a hard worker.
| Wash. Post 7 Oct. 5/2: Unattractive girls are ‘strictly closet cases’, meaning they should be in the closet when men are around. | |
| College Vocab. 6: Closet case – An unattractive person whom you would like to hide. | |
| et al. CUSS 97: Closet case A person who studies a great deal. | |
| Animal House [film script] flounder He said legacies usually get asked to pledge automatically. otter [...] Unless the pledge in question turns out to be a real closet-case. |
2. (gay) a homosexual who finds it difficult or impossible to admit their sexuality in public.
 | I’m for Hire 103: Nancy is a closet dyke. Lots of whores are. | |
| Puritan Jungle 191: They’re what we call ‘closet cases’, hiding and scared to death of exposure. | |
| ‘Ports O Call’ in Fag Rag (Boston) Spring No. 19 in Jay & Young (1979) 153: All the wealthy closet cases were finally admitting it by being seen within. | |
| Devil’s Hand Maiden 207: ‘Women have a hundred more things on the ball than men.’ — But can’t you have both?’ — ‘Sure, get married and be a closet dyke.’. | |
| Maledicta VI:1+2 (Summer/Winter) 132: Closet dyke (as with closet case and closet queen, shy or furtive). | |
![[Scot]](/static/img/flags/sco.png "Scotland") | Filth 203: A repressed, inadequate closet case like him must be drooling at the prospect of checking out all that meat. | |
| ‘Medium Rare’ Oz ser. 4 ep. 9 [TV script] Eldridge is actually a fagoot [...] one of them closet cases. | |
| ‘Be My Alibi’ in ThugLit Sept. [ebook] Confused straight boys, closet cases. |
(gay) a homosexual who finds it difficult to admit his sexuality.
| Golden Spur (1991) 151: I never could figure out why you picked me when the other boys wsere so much prettier but I suppose a closet queen has to pick the mutt type like yours truly to kep off suspicion. | |
| Slave in Three Negro Plays (1969) Act II: You and that closet queen, respected, weak-as-water intellectual, pitying me. God. God! | |
| Harper’s Mag. Sept. 39: ‘Hell, he’s one of those tough fags,’ would be the answer [...]. ‘A closet queer, obviously.’. | |
| Rum, Bum and Concertina (1978) 68: My closet queen made no effort to arrange another meeting. | |
| Tracks (Aus.) May 3: What sort of silly idiot... would call R J Kegg a closet queer .... At least he took one of the doughnut makers [i.e., a sodomist] out with an elbow in the mouth. | |
| (con. 1960s) London Blues 110: One thing I’ve always noticed about homosexuals, particularly closet queers, is this eye movement thing. | |
| ‘My Life as a Creep’ in Destination: Morgue! (2004) 128: Middle-aged closet queens with wedding rings and sheepish expressions. Devotees of Cock It to Me and For Those Who Think Hung. | |
| Gayle. | |
![[NZ]](/static/img/flags/nz.png "New Zealand") | ‘Trolling the Beat to Working the Soob’ in Int’l Jrnl Lexicog. 23:1 65: Queen is often preceded by a noun or adjective that indicates a place of residence, character or preference. Indicative of this are terms like [...] closet queen (one who hides his homosexuality). | |
| Widespread Panic 151: A booze-hound bachelor and a cloistered closet queen. He juiced at the Raincheck Room. |