Idiom
give the lie
Meaning
To respond to an insult, accusation, or falsehood by saying the offender is lying, particularly in the context of provoking a challenge to a duel.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“His actions give the lie to his claims of honesty.”
“You must give the lie to anyone who calls you a thief.”
“The discovery of the hidden documents served to give the lie to the manager's public statement about the company's finances.”
“The knight felt he had to give the lie to his rival after being accused of cowardice during the royal banquet.”
“When the captain insulted his family's honor, the young officer felt he had no choice but to give the lie and demand a formal apology on the field.”
“The sudden appearance of the witness at the trial served to give the lie to the defendant’s elaborate alibi, effectively dismantling his entire defense in front of the jury.”
Examples
simple
“His actions give the lie to his claims of honesty.”
“You must give the lie to anyone who calls you a thief.”
contextual
“The discovery of the hidden documents served to give the lie to the manager's public statement about the company's finances.”
“The knight felt he had to give the lie to his rival after being accused of cowardice during the royal banquet.”
“When the captain insulted his family's honor, the young officer felt he had no choice but to give the lie and demand a formal apology on the field.”
complex
“The sudden appearance of the witness at the trial served to give the lie to the defendant’s elaborate alibi, effectively dismantling his entire defense in front of the jury.”
Origin
From *give* + *the* + *lie*, appearing in English as a formal accusation of falsehood. The construction preserves an obsolete sense of the noun *lie*, which historically referred to the specific charge or claim that another person was lying. To give the lie was to deliver this formal challenge to a speaker’s veracity.
Key words
Related idioms
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