When I’m reading U.S. newspapers reporting Presidential campaign almost every day, and watching consistency and inconsistency of the claims of candidates or nominees in their speeches at rallies and press interviews, I feel like I’m getting to know what really they are like.
Whatever you say, it becomes clear who you really are over the long term and through repeated tests, no matter how you decorate yourself beautifully. When we recognize one’s true character, we call it “メッキが剥げる- the gilding comes off (and shows true color of the ground metal)” in Japanese saying.
I'm curious to know if there is the similar figurative expression to “the (gold) plate comes (peels) off” in English. Is there the one?
Best Answer
It's common to call this showing one's true colors similar to the way you described it in your question. Wiktionary:
The usual form is colors rather than color, because as Wiktionary goes on to say, the expression is of nautical origin:
To be completely clear, a ship's flag is always referred to as its "colors" in the plural, certainly because a flag generally has multiple colors which define it.