false colours
Britishplural noun
-
a flag to which one is not entitled, flown esp in order to deceive
the ship was sailing under false colours
-
an assumed or misleading name or guise
to trade under false colours
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The new photographs include images in false colours that clearly show the shape of Carn Glas.
From BBC • Sep. 26, 2023
We came here somewhat under false colours, to try and find out about this murder, and in the hope we might discover some proofs of Captain Mervyn's innocence.
From The Curse of Carne's Hold A Tale of Adventure by Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)
I only strike my false colours; and you know they were never carried willingly.”
From Tales from Blackwood Volume 4 by Various
She felt suddenly guilty, as though she were in some way parading in false colours.
From Stubble by Looms, George
This is the article, my countrymen, which knaves and blockheads have so often dressed up in false colours, and requested your attention to the construction of it.
From Essays on the Constitution of the United States by Ford, Paul Leicester
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
