すねに傷きず

expression, noun

having a guilty secret; having a skeleton in the closet

Idiomatic expression literally meaning 'a wound on the shin'; used when someone has a hidden past misdeed or guilty conscience. Often appears as すねに傷持つ (to have a guilty secret).

• 彼かれはすねに傷きずがあるから、警けい察さつの話はなしになると急きゅうに黙だまり込こむ。

  He has a guilty secret, so he suddenly goes quiet when the topic of the police comes up.

• すねに傷きず持もつ身みとしては、あまり大おおきなことは言いえない。

  As someone with a skeleton in the closet, I can't talk big.