hide one's light under a bushel
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Show extreme modesty, as in Even after Paul won the scholarship be went on hiding his light under a bushel. This expression, which does not necessarily express approval of this behavior, has its origin in the New Testament (Matthew 5:15): “Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick.” [Early 1600s]
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Words nearby hide one's light under a bushel
hideaway bed, hidebound, hide nor hair, neither, hide one's face, hide one's head in the sand, hide one's light under a bushel, hideous, hideout, hidey-hole, Hideyoshi, Hideyoshi Toyotomi
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.