show one's true colors

English

Etymology

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

show one 's true colors

(idiomatic) To reveal how one really is, as opposed to how one has been portrayed or after having been deceptively and deliberately misleading.

Synonyms

show one's true stripes

Translations

to reveal how one really is

Chinese:
Mandarin: 露出真面目 (lùchū zhēnmiànmù)
Czech: vybarvit, odhalit své ledví
Danish: please add this translation if you can
Finnish: näyttää todellinen karva nsa
French: se montrer sous son vrai jour

German: Farbe bekennen (de), sein wahres Gesicht zeigen
Norwegian: vise sin sanne natur, stikke hestehoven fram
Russian: показа́ть истинное лицо́ (pokazátʹ istinnoje licó) (lit: show one's true face)
Spanish: mostrar su verdadera cara, mostrarse tal cual es
Swedish: visa sitt rätta ansikte, visa sitt rätta jag, visa sin sanna natur, bekänna färg (sv)

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