colour (redirected from colors)

be off-colour (British & Australian, American & Australian)

to not be feeling as well as usual. He had flu a couple of months ago and he's been a bit off-colour ever since.

come through/pass with flying colours (British & Australian, American & Australian)

to pass an examination with a very high score or to complete a difficult activity very successfully. She took her university entrance exam in December and passed with flying colours. The officer training was gruelling, but he came through with flying colours.

See also: come, flying, pass, through

nail your colours to the mast

to publicly state your opinions about a subject. Nobody knows which way he's going to vote because he has so far refused to nail his colours to the mast.

See also: mast, nail

off-colour (British & Australian, American & Australian)

off-colour jokes or remarks are about sex in a way that some people find offensive. Some of his jokes were a little off-colour and I don't think my grandparents particularly appreciated them.

sail under false colours (British & Australian, American & Australian)

to pretend to be something that you are not in order to deceive people. Lewis was sailing under false colours - he never told her he was a journalist.

See also: false, sail

see someone in their true colours

show someone in their true colours - to show what someone's real character is, especially when it is unpleasant. At last he saw her in her true colours as a liar and a cheat.

See also: see, true

see the colour of someone's money

to make sure that someone can pay for something before you let them have it. I want to see the colour of his money before I say the car's his.

See also: money, see

see someone's true colours

show someone in their true colours - to show what someone's real character is, especially when it is unpleasant. It wasn't until we started to live together that I saw her true colours.

See also: see, true

show someone in their true colours

to show what someone's real character is, especially when it is unpleasant. By showing the terrorists in their true colours, the government hopes to undermine public support for them.

See also: show, true

show your true colours

show someone in their true colours - to show what someone's real character is, especially when it is unpleasant. When someone is faced with such a terrible ordeal, it shows their true colours.

See also: show, true