blow one's cover

blow (one's) cover

To expose one's true identity or motives after they had been intentionally concealed (i.e. after one had been "undercover"). The spy fled when he realized that someone had blown his cover. I totally blew my cover when I stupidly wore my school jacket to steal the other team's mascot.See also: blow, cover

blow one's cover

Inadvertently give away one's secret identity, as in Mary came to the annual meeting pretending to be a shareholder and hoped no one would blow her cover . This expression uses blow in the sense of "expose or betray," a usage dating from Shakespeare's day. See also: blow, cover