Skeleton

A scandal that is kept secret

Examples

There must be a skeleton somewhere in that family's closet

The hard structure (bones and cartilages) that provides a frame for the body of an animal

The internal supporting structure that gives an artifact its shape

Has types

Chassis

Hoop

Examples

The building has a steel skeleton

Something reduced to its minimal form

Examples

The battalion was a mere skeleton of its former self

The bare skeleton of a novel