show true colors



show somebody's/something's true colors

also reveal somebody's/something's true colors
to let others see what someone or something is really like Hal's wife showed her true colors by getting a second job when he lost his. Workers felt the company revealed its true colors during the crisis.
See also: color, show, true

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Abhishek-Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil
Shira-Hebrew
TadeÁŠ-Czech, Slovak
Emeliai-MEE-lee-ə, i-MEEL-yəEnglish
Svetomir-Serbian, Bulgarian
LunedLIN-ed (Welsh)Welsh, Welsh Mythology, Arthurian Romance