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
My whole life has been shuffled through under false colours.
From Ghetto Tragedies by Israel Zangwill
People should examine and weigh the real weight and merit of the person, and not be imposed upon by false colours and pretences of I know not what.
From ?sop's Fables, Embellished with One Hundred and Eleven Emblematical Devices. by ?sop
Take all you gets, and clap ’em under hatches, and, whatever you do, don’t be deceived by false colours, nor hail ships as seems enemies.”
From Midnight Webs by George Manville Fenn
"I am afraid I do not merit your confidence in matters touching the fellowship to which you and my friend Mount adhere," I said, stiffly, determined not to wear false colours.
From Cardigan by Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers
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.
