show one's true colors
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show one's true colors
Where it comes from
Nautical origin. The word colors (or colours) refers to the flag or ensign which every ship is obliged to fly at sea. It was once a common deception of pirates to “sail under false colours” and fly a friendly flag in order to get within close range of potential targets (other ships) without exciting suspicion. Only when the pirate ship reached close quarters would it unfurl its true colours.
verb shows one's true colors · showing one's true colors · showed one's true colors · shown one's true colors · show one's true colours
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To reveal how one really is, as opposed to how one has been portrayed or after having been deceptively and deliberately misleading.
Similar: break cover, show one's true stripes
Translations
Every language
verb to reveal how one really is
| Español | mostrar su verdadera cara, mostrar sus verdaderas cartas, mostrarse tal cual es, vérsele las costuras |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 露出真面目 lùchū zhēnmiànmù |
| Português | mostrar sua verdadeira cara |
| Français | se montrer sous son vrai jour, montrer son vrai visage |
| Deutsch | Farbe bekennen, sein wahres Gesicht zeigen |
| Italiano | mostrare il proprio vero volto |
Talk about this word "show one's true colors." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/show%20one's%20true%20colors. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. show one's true colors. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/show%20one's%20true%20colors "show one's true colors." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/show%20one's%20true%20colors.Cite this
@misc{show_one_s_true_colors_2026,
title = {show one's true colors},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/show%20one's%20true%20colors},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
