verb phrase🎓 English idiom
read between the lines
to understand the hidden meaning
What it means
To understand a hidden or implied meaning that is not stated directly. You infer what someone really thinks or feels from clues, tone, or what they leave unsaid.
Examples
- She never complained outright, but reading between the lines, she was clearly unhappy.
- If you read between the lines of his email, he's basically rejecting the offer.
- Politicians rarely say what they mean, so you have to read between the lines.
- Reading between the lines, I think they're planning to sell the company soon.
Where it comes from
The phrase comes from 19th-century cryptography, where secret messages were sometimes written in invisible ink between the visible lines of an ordinary letter.
Related idioms
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