read between the lines

1. To pay attention to what is implied in writing or in speech.

Idioms and Phrases

Perceive or detect a hidden meaning, as in They say that everything's fine, but reading between the lines I suspect they have some marital problems . This term comes from cryptography, where in one code reading every second line of a message gives a different meaning from that of the entire text. [Mid-1800s]

Example Sentences

In the absence of any official Israeli comment, a certain amount of reading between the lines is needed.

From BBC

It was left for the American people to read between the lines.

From BBC

If you read between the lines, the GOP’s platform is not about moderation.

From Los Angeles Times

But reading between the lines, it says a lot about his feelings towards the series.

From Salon

"This helps us read between the lines, because we can look at the interrelationships between all of the variables at the same time," he says.

From Science Daily