1
general::
Phrase(s): the moment of truth
Fig. the point at which someone has to face the reality of a situation. • The moment of truth is here. Turn over your exam papers and begin. • Now for the moment of truth when we find out whether we have got planning permission or not.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
A critical or decisive time, at which one is put to the ultimate test, as in Now that all the bills are in, we've come to the moment of truth? can we afford to live here or not? This expression, a translation of the Spanish el momento de la verdad, signifies the point in a bullfight when the matador makes the kill. It was first used in English in Ernest Heming-way's story Death in the Afternoon (1932).
American Heritage Idioms