nice Nelly
nice Nellie
Someone who acts too good to be true; a prude; a prig.
We took him for a nice Nelly when he wouldn't fight.
Too careful not to say or do anything wrong or improper; too proper; prudish.
Her nice Nelly behavior made her unpopular at school.
pack of lies
An unbelievable story; unprovable allegations.
What Al told us about his new girlfriend was nothing but a pack of lies.
see how the land lies
To reconnoiter; investigate.
Before going there in person to ask for a job, you had better see how the land lies and who does what.
seeing is believing
Seeing something is good proof.
Bill told Joe he had passed his test, but Joe said, "Seeing is believing."
the big lie
A major, deliberate misrepresentation of some important issue made on the assumption that a bold, gross lie is psychologically more believable than a timid, minor one.
We all heard the big lie during the Watergate months.
The pretense of democracy by a totalitarian regime is part of the big lie about its government.
white lie
An innocent social excuse.
Ложь во спасение.
I am too busy to go to their house for dinner tonight. I will call them and tell a little white lie about having the flu.
He told her a white lie.
Он солгал ей во спасение.
yellow-bellied
Extremely timid, cowardly.
Боязливый; опасливый; трусливый.
Joe Bennett is a yellow-bellied guy, don't send him on such a tough assignment!
John is so yellow-bellied! He couldn’t even stand up for himself when his boss shouted at him for no reason!
Джон такой трус! Он даже не смог за себя постоять, когда его босс накричал на него ни за что!