a white lie
/ə ˌwaɪt ˈlaɪ/NEUTRAL · B2
Meaning
a small untruth told to avoid hurting someone
Examples
- 1I told a white lie and said I loved the jumper Gran had knitted.
- 2Sometimes a white lie is kinder than the whole truth.
- 3I said I loved Mia's new haircut; it was a white lie, but it made her smile.
- 4What harm can a white lie do if it spares a friend's feelings?
- 5Telling the host her cold pasta was delicious was a white lie, and a kind one.
Grammar
Countable: a white lie, plural white lies. The usual verb is tell.
More idioms about colours
All 20 idioms and the topic quiz →green with envyvery jealous of what someone else hassee redto suddenly become very angrywith flying coloursvery successfully, especially in a testa grey areaa situation where the rules are not clearget the green lightto be given permission to startcatch someone red-handedto find someone while they are doing something wrong
English Idioms400 idioms in 20 topics — with reviews that keep them from fading
Here you get a couple of questions. The app gives you 16 practice modes, native equivalents and spaced repetition that tells you when it’s time to refresh.
