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With flying colours
"With flying colours" is a popular proverbial phrase of the English language. The phrase's origins relate to ship flags.
==History==
Ships serve scientific and cultural needs, as well as the transportation of goods, and resolving political and national conflict. In the past, without the use of modern communication devices, a ship's appearance upon the immediate return to the port could communicate how the crew fared at sea. Ships that were victorious in their endeavors, for example, an encounter with an enemy ship, would sail into port with flags flying from the mastheads.〔Ammer, p. 127.〕 On the other hand, a ship that had been defeated, if still afloat, would be forced to ''"strike their colours"'', or to take them down, signifying their defeat. Although the time period is estimated roughly into the Age of Discovery, prior to the 18th century these phrases〔〔 were used solely as nautical terms,〔 and afterward they began to be used in the vernacular figuratively to signify any kind of triumph. Also, another phrase, ''"go down with flying colours"'' or ''"go down with colours flying"''〔 was used to express a commitment; in other words, a resolute crew fighting, even until their ship sinks.〔Cicero, p. 100.〕 A variant of this phrase gives virtually the same meaning, ''"Nail your colours to the mast"''. If the ''colours'', or the flag is nailed onto the mast, it cannot be lowered. There is effectively no way to express submission.〔〔
The word ''colours'' as used in the phrase historically was an alternative to saying flag, particularly to display a parties affiliation or allegiance to a nation.〔Breverton, p. 143.〕 The calling of the flag as ''colours'' may of course, have non-nautical phrases as colours was used to express patriotism and nationality; other such examples of phrases being "''true colours''", or "''show your colours''".〔 ''Flying'', of course, refers to the unfurled flags'〔Brewer (1905), p. 475.〕 position on the masthead, and the variants ''come off''〔Hyamson, p. 148.〕 or ''pass'' simply mean to have returned from the sea and to pass into the harbor, respectively.
Similarly, the phrase ''"sailing under false colours"'' was a reference to a tactic used by pirates or maritime robbers roaming the seas to attack vessels with desired booty.〔 By hoisting a friendly flag,〔 the unsuspecting ship would allow the pirates' ship to approach without resistance, giving the pirates access to board their vessel.〔 Blackbeard famously repeated this process for two years, and sometimes upon sight of their ship, with a pirate flag replacing the deceptive friendly one, the ship would immediately surrender.〔 However, this was not limited historically to pirates, as the British navy had used this tactic when chasing Black Bart Roberts.〔
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
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