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You are here: Home / Language / What Does the Expression “Read Between the Lines” Mean and Where Did the Idiom Come From?

What Does the Expression “Read Between the Lines” Mean and Where Did the Idiom Come From?

March 12, 2020 by Karen Hill

Sometimes the truth is obscured within the written text of a letter, and so we must “read between the lines.”

Centuries ago it was discovered that by writing a secret message between the lines of a normal letter with lemon juice, the real message would stay transparent until the document was heated over a flame.

The heat from the flame causes the juice to become discolored, revealing the intended message written between the lines of the ruse.

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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