give the lie to

give the lie to
{v. phr.}, {literary} 1. To call (someone) a liar. * /The police gave the lie to the man who said that he had been at home during the robbery./ 2. To show (something) to be false; prove untrue. * /The boy's dirty face gave the lie to his answer that he had washed./

Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.

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  • give the lie to — (something) formal to show that something is not true. The high incidence of cancer in the region surely gives the lie to official assurances that the factory is safe …   New idioms dictionary

  • give the lie to — ► give the lie to serve to show that (something assumed to be true) is not true. Main Entry: ↑lie …   English terms dictionary

  • give the lie to — DISPROVE, contradict, negate, deny, refute, rebut, controvert, belie, invalidate, discredit, debunk; challenge, call into question; informal shoot full of holes, shoot down (in flames); formal confute, gainsay. → lie * * * phrasal …   Useful english dictionary

  • give the lie to something — formal phrase to show that something is not at all true These figures give the lie to the notion that people are spending less. Thesaurus: to try to show that an idea or belief is wrongsynonym Main entry: lie * * * give the lie to sth …   Useful english dictionary

  • give the lie to something — give the lie to (something) formal to show that something is not true. The high incidence of cancer in the region surely gives the lie to official assurances that the factory is safe …   New idioms dictionary

  • give the lie to something — formal to show that something is not at all true These figures give the lie to the notion that people are spending less …   English dictionary

  • give the lie to — {v. phr.}, {literary} 1. To call (someone) a liar. * /The police gave the lie to the man who said that he had been at home during the robbery./ 2. To show (something) to be false; prove untrue. * /The boy s dirty face gave the lie to his answer… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • give\ the\ lie\ to — v. phr. literary 1. To call (someone) a liar. The police gave the lie to the man who said that he had been at home during the robbery. 2. To show (smth) to be false; prove untrue. The boy s dirty face gave the lie to his answer that he had washed …   Словарь американских идиом

  • give the lie to — verb to prove something to be false; to refute They found plenty of email that gave the lie to his assertion that he didnt know about the incident …   Wiktionary

  • To give the lie to — Lie Lie (l[imac]), n. [AS. lyge; akin to D. leugen, OHG. lugi, G. l[ u]ge, lug, Icel. lygi, Dan. & Sw. l[ o]gn, Goth. liugn. See {Lie} to utter a falsehood.] 1. A falsehood uttered or acted for the purpose of deception; an intentional violation… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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