sail under false colors

[sail under false colors] {v. phr.}

1. To sail a ship, often pirate, under the flag of another country.

* /The pirate ship flew the American flag until it got near, then raised the black flag./

1. To pretend to be what you are not; masquerade.

* /The garage hired Jones as a mechanic, but fired him when they found he was sailing under false colors./

* /They found out that Smith was an escaped convict who had been sailing under false colors as a lawyer./

Tags:

Source: A Dictionary of American Idioms


	↑ Grab this Headline Animator Subscribe to Learn American Idioms day-by-day by Email

	See also »
	false [false] See: PLAY ONE FALSE, SAIL UNDER FALSE COLORS. A Dictionary of American Idioms color [color] See: CHANGE COLOR, GIVE COLOR TO or LEND COLOR TO, HAUL DOWN ONE'S COLORS, ... A Dictionary of American Idioms under false colors [under false colors] See: SAIL UNDER FALSE COLORS. A Dictionary of American Idioms haul down one's colors [haul down one's colors] or [strike one's colors] {v. phr.} 1. To pull down a ... A Dictionary of American Idioms set sail [set sail] {v. phr.} To begin a sea voyage; start sailing. * /The ship set ... A Dictionary of American Idioms show one's colors [show one's colors] {v. phr.} 1. To show what you are really like. * /We ... A Dictionary of American Idioms with flying colors [with flying colors] {adv. phr.} With great or total success; victoriously. * /Tow finished the ... A Dictionary of American Idioms

	Latest news »
	RSS-feeds We have added RSS functionality to the site. At present you can subscribe to any of the following RSS feeds: search (keywords), ...