sail under false colors
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English
Verb
sail under false colors (third-person singular simple present sails under false colors, present participle sailing under false colors, simple past and past participle sailed under false colors)
- (idiomatic, nautical, obsolete) To deceive or intentionally mystify.
- 1869, Annie Thomas, “Miss Vargrave Nearly Lands a Fish”, in False Colours. , volume II, London: Tinsley Brothers, , →OCLC, page 251:
- They were all not exactly sailing under false colours, but deceiving themselves as to their motives—and one another, to a lesser degree, by their actions.
See also
With flying colors on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
References
- Breverton, Terry (2004, Pelican Publishing Company)."sailing under false colors." The pirate's dictionary.
- (1877, Oxford House.) "Correspondence." British journal of dental science, Volume 20.
- Lennox, Doug (2007, Dundurn Press Ltd.). "Why when someone we trusted turns against us do we say "he's shown his true colours"?" Now You Know Big Book of Answers.
- Thomas, Annie (1869, Tinsley Borthers). "Miss Vargrave nearly lands a fish." False Colours.