Right. So they openly acknowledge he'd bend them over a desk if he actually tried. But he doesn't want to be found out, so his only choice is to try just hard enough so he's not noticed, or figure out some way to make his full strength look like a fluke, or a miracle. Maybe English isn't your first language, but unless there's an issue with the translation "Show them your true colors" is her saying he should go all out. His response is expressing a fear of everyone finding out what he can do, and thus putting her in danger. The difficulty is in winning while also hiding his strength, not winning in the first place.
Yes, I am a native English speaker, and last I checked "Show them your true colors" is not synonymous with "bend them over a desk if he actually tried."
Yes, they clearly acknowledged that he could"do something against them," ergo "Show them your true colors," no they don't "openly acknowledge he'd bend them over a desk if he actually tried." Nowhere do they" openly state (or acknowledge) that he could overwhelm them. That is not the
sole and
explicit meaning of the phrase "Show them your true colors" which has plenty of different interpretations.
Perhaps I'm being pedantic, but you are being highly specific and precise with a fairly generic term. She
could be using it
that way, she could be saying that he has more than enough ability to "compete" with them (instead of outright overwhelmed them, which is what you are insisting is what was literally said).
Anyway, and regardless, arguing about this is ultimately pointless because it's semantics, and as I implied in my first post, I usually don't correct people for semantically misquoting the material they are claiming to "literally" quote.