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read between the lines

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Acronyms, Wikipedia 0.04 sec.
read between the lines
to try to understand someone's real feelings or intentions from what they say or write. Reading between the lines, I'd say that Martin isn't very happy with the situation.
See also: between, line, read
read between the lines
to find a hidden meaning in something said or written. The report doesn't criticize the research directly, but you can read between the lines that the review committee wasn't impressed.
Usage notes: sometimes used without the verb: Leo read Melodie's letter again, hoping for some hidden message between the lines.
See also: between, line, read
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? References in classic literature
The countess's silence had subdued and depressed her, but the letter, all that she read between the lines in it, so exasperated her, this malice was so revolting beside her passionate, legitimate tenderness for her son, that she turned against other people and left off blaming herself.
Anna Karenina by Tolstoy, Leo View in context
To reveal who he really was would even at this date set the country in a blaze; but as those who read between the lines must already have guessed, he had been at a famous public school; and its traditions still clung to him like garments, with which indeed they are largely concerned.
The Adventures of Peter Pan by Barrie, James Matthew View in context
What a starved, unloved life she had had--a life of drudgery and poverty and neglect; for Marilla was shrewd enough to read between the lines of Anne's history and divine the truth.
Anne Of Green Gables by Montgomery, Lucy Maud View in context
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