modesty

false modesty

A vain or hypocritical pretense of holding a low or humble opinion of oneself, one's abilities, or one's circumstance so as to encourage others to say the opposite. There's no need for that false modesty here; you are fully aware of your success and achievement, and you don't need me to reaffirm it for you. I find her false modesty quite unbecoming.
See also: false, modesty

in all modesty

Without trying to boast, brag, or seem overly important. You asked me about my career, so I'm trying to speak in all modesty about the successes I've found.
See also: all, modesty
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • abode
  • at (one's) doorstep
  • at doorstep
  • (one's) bearings
  • bite (one's) tongue
  • bite one's tongue
  • bite tongue
  • at somebody's expense
  • at someone's expense
  • at (one's) expense
References in periodicals archive
In fact, if modesty is really the goal, then many practices particularly those of Western women become questionable.
The Qur'an is quite clear that the veil is essential for modesty, but why is modesty important?
Prosecutors charged the suspect with molesting the woman and breaching her modesty.
Modesty is central to Islamic life (Padela & Rodriguez del Pozo, 2011).
The studio said: "Modesty is a haunted young girl with an inner strength and stillness.
Ceremonies were held highlighting the different aspects of Islamic civilization and culture, Islamic values and modesty and training workshops were organized to enlighten the youths on Islamic values.
So Lewis suggests that "online modesty discourse can indeed be regarded as a new form of religious discourse in which women are achieving recognition as religious interpreters and intermediaries (7)." Highlighting women's agency assumed in such a suggestion is a third way that the book offers refreshing perspectives on modest dress.
Rossi said: "I sometimes get nervous before going on stage, but walking out in front of Bryan Adams with just a guitar to protect my modesty took some doing; expect he was scared too.
The three men -- a guard, 36, a businessman, 38, and a third who is absconding -- also allegedly breached the victim's modesty by filming him with a mobile phone after pulling his trousers down.
hits parade We cover her modesty as star gives passers-by an eyeful
Where is the modesty that Nasrallah claimed in accepting the 9-9-6 cabinet formula in Lebanon, even though he imposed this formula, after dominating the situation on the ground in Lebanon?
THE CO?OP HAVE ANNOUNCED THAT THEY WILL NO LONGER SELL LADS' MAG NUTS AFTER THE TITLE REJECTED AN ULTIMATUM TO USE "MODESTY BAGS".
But there is one pseudo-contentious issue that I find myself delving into more and more: modesty. As much as I'd like it to be a cut-and-dried issue, it simply isn't.
Although the districts reporting cases of attack on modesty this year remained the same (29), the number of FIRs filed increased by 36 per cent.