Lying through his teeth

Posted by Smokey Stover on June 09, 2004

In Reply to: Lying through his teeth posted by Swagman on June 08, 2004

: The meaning I'm not at all sure about and the origin I can only speculate about - wildly. Is there help out there?

I have always assumed that lying through one's teeth was just an emphatic way of saying "lying." I don't know what is meant in particular by "through one's teeth," and have been unable to discover it. Perhaps someone else will be able to elucidate. If I can see someone's teeth then he must be lying to my face. But I doubt that that is the meaning of "through his teeth." The OED mentions lying "in his teeth," but without any further information. SS

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