(one's) mask slips

(one's) mask slips

One's true personality, agenda, or motivation has been revealed, which stands in contrast to what was presented to other people. Her masked slipped for just a moment, and everyone could see the contempt she really held for her audience. Now that the senator's mask has slipped, he's going to have an even harder time getting reelected. Wow, the chair of the humane society's mask seriously slipped at that event, huh? People are horrified to know how she really feels about animals.

See also: mask, slip

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