- white lie
- {n. phr.} An innocent social excuse. * /I am too busy to go to their house for dinner tonight. I will call them and tell a little white lie about having the flu./
Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.
white lie
Look at other dictionaries:
White lie — White White (hw[imac]t), a. [Compar. {Whiter} (hw[imac]t [ e]r); superl. {Whitest}.] [OE. whit, AS. hw[imac]t; akin to OFries. and OS. hw[=i]t, D. wit, G. weiss, OHG. w[=i]z, hw[=i]z, Icel. hv[=i]tr, Sw. hvit, Dan. hvid, Goth. hweits, Lith.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
White lie — 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
white lie — If you tell a white lie, you lie in order not to hurt someone s feelings … The small dictionary of idiomes
white lie — n informal a lie that you tell someone in order to protect them or avoid hurting their feelings … Dictionary of contemporary English
white lie — noun count a lie told to avoid making someone upset, not for your own advantage or in order to harm someone else … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
white lie — white′ lie′ n. a minor or harmless lie; fib … From formal English to slang
white lie — ► NOUN ▪ a harmless lie told to avoid hurting someone s feelings … English terms dictionary
white lie — n. a lie concerning a trivial matter, often one told to spare someone s feelings … English World dictionary
white lie — white lies N COUNT If you refer to an untrue statement as a white lie, you mean that it is made to avoid hurting someone s feelings or to avoid trouble, and not for an evil purpose … English dictionary
white lie — noun an unimportant lie (especially one told to be tactful or polite) • Hypernyms: ↑lie, ↑prevarication * * * a minor, polite, or harmless lie; fib. * * * white lie A minor falsehood, esp one uttered for reasons of tact, etc • • • Main Entry:… … Useful english dictionary
white lie — If you tell a white lie, you lie in order not to hurt someone s feelings. (Dorking School Dictionary) *** If you tell a white lie, you say something which is not true in order to protect someone or to avoid hurting their feelings. … … English Idioms & idiomatic expressions
