give the lie to

noun

1. a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood.
2. something intended or serving to convey a false impression; imposture: His flashy car was a lie that deceived no one.
3. an inaccurate or false statement; a falsehood.
4. the charge or accusation of telling a lie: He flung the lie back at his accusers.

verb (used without object), lied, ly·ing.

5. to speak falsely or utter untruth knowingly, as with intent to deceive.
6. to express what is false; convey a false impression.

verb (used with object), lied, ly·ing.

7. to bring about or affect by lying (often used reflexively): to lie oneself out of a difficulty; accustomed to lying his way out of difficulties.

Idioms

8. give the lie to,
   1. to accuse of lying; contradict.
   2. to prove or imply the falsity of; belie: His poor work gives the lie to his claims of experience.
9. lie in one’s throat/teeth, to lie grossly or maliciously: If she told you exactly the opposite of what she told me, she must be lying in her teeth.Also lie through one’s teeth.

noun

1. Trygve Halvdan (ˈtryɡvə ˈhalðan). 1896–1968, Norwegian statesman; first secretary-general of the United Nations (1946–52)

verb lies, lying or lied

1. (intr) to speak untruthfully with intent to mislead or deceive
2. (intr) to convey a false impression or practise deceptionthe camera does not lie

noun

3. an untrue or deceptive statement deliberately used to mislead
4. something that is deliberately intended to deceive
5. give the lie to
   1. to disprove
   2. to accuse of lying

verb lies, lying, lay (leɪ) or lain (leɪn) (intr)

1. (often foll by down) to place oneself or be in a prostrate position, horizontal to the ground
2. to be situated, esp on a horizontal surfacethe pencil is lying on the desk; India lies to the south of Russia
3. to be buriedhere lies Jane Brown
4. (copula) to be and remain (in a particular state or condition)to lie dormant
5. to stretch or extendthe city lies before us
6. (usually foll by on or upon) to rest or weighmy sins lie heavily on my mind
7. (usually foll by in) to exist or consist inherentlystrength lies in unity
8. (foll by with)
   1. to be or rest (with)the ultimate decision lies with you
   2. archaicto have sexual intercourse (with)
9. (of an action, claim, appeal, etc) to subsist; be maintainable or admissible
10. archaic to stay temporarily
11. lie in state See state (def. 13)
12. lie low
    1. to keep or be concealed or quiet
    2. to wait for a favourable opportunity

noun

13. the manner, place, or style in which something is situated
14. the hiding place or lair of an animal
15. golf
    1. the position of the ball after a shota bad lie
    2. the angle made by the shaft of the club before the upswing
16. lie of the land
    1. the topography of the land
    2. the way in which a situation is developing or people are behaving

n.2

“manner of lying,” 1690s, from lie (v.2). Sense in golf is from 1857.

v.1

“speak falsely, tell an untruth,” late 12c., from Old English legan, ligan, earlier leogan “deceive, belie, betray” (class II strong verb; past tense leag, past participle logen), from Proto-Germanic *leugan (cf. Old Norse ljuga, Danish lyve, Old Frisian liaga, Old Saxon and Old High German liogan, German lügen, Gothic liugan), from PIE root *leugh- “to tell a lie.”

v.2

“rest horizontally,” early 12c., from Old English licgan (class V strong verb; past tense læg, past participle legen) “be situated, reamin; be at rest, lie down,” from Proto-Germanic *legjanan (cf. Old Norse liggja, Old Frisian lidzia, Middle Dutch ligghen, Dutch liggen, Old High German ligen, German liegen, Gothic ligan), from PIE *legh- “to lie, lay” (cf. Hittite laggari “falls, lies,” Greek lekhesthai “to lie down,” Latin lectus “bed,” Old Church Slavonic lego “to lie down,” Lithuanian at-lagai “fallow land,” Old Irish laigim “I lie down,” Irish luighe “couch, grave”). To lie with “have sexual intercourse” is from c.1300, and cf. Old English licgan mid “cohabit with.” To take (something) lying down “passively, submissively” is from 1854.

n.1

“an untruth,” Old English lyge “lie, falsehood,” from Proto-Germanic *lugiz (cf. Old Norse lygi, Danish løgn, Old Frisian leyne (fem.), Dutch leugen (fem.), Old High German lugi, German Lüge, Gothic liugn “a lie”), from the root of lie (v.1). To give the lie to “accuse directly of lying” is attested from 1590s. Lie-detector first recorded 1909.

n.

1. The manner or position in which something is situated, especially the relation that the long axis of a fetus bears to that of its mother.

Show to be false, refute, as in His black eye gave the lie to his contention that he hadn’t been fighting. [First half of 1500s]

In addition to the idioms beginning with lie

• lie down
• lie in
• lie in state
• lie in wait
• lie low
• lie through one’s teeth
• lie with

also see:

• barefaced lie
• give the lie to
• (lie) in state
• lay of the land (how the land lies)
• let sleeping dogs lie
• make one’s bed and lie in it
• take lying down
• white lie