show one's true stripes

show one's true stripes

1. (idiomatic) To reveal one's real beliefs, sentiments, or character, especially through one's behavior.
   • 1996 Feb. 26, "Editorial" Against Change in Cuba," Miami Herald, p. 14A (retrieved 21 March 2013):

     Fidel Castro showed his true stripes again—as if they weren't indelible enough already—by letting his MiGs shoot down two of three unarmed Cuban-exile planes off Havana's coast on Saturday.

   • 2002, Jeffrey Eugenides, Middlesex, →ISBN (2011 reprint), p. 363 (Google preview):

     “Now they're showing their true stripes,” Iimmy Fioretos said. “The Turks wanted to invade all along. That malarkey about ‘protecting the Constitution’ was just a pretext.”

   • 2005 July 12, Danny Hakim, "With Sierra Club's Help, Ford Pushes a New Hybrid ," New York Times (retrieved 21 March 2013):

     "My fear is that Bill Ford is showing his true stripes as just another short-sighted auto executive with no interest in the environment."

• show one's true colors