white lie

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++ˌwhite ˈlie noun [countable] informal  LIE/TELL A LIEa lie that you tell someone in order to protect them or avoid hurting their feelings 善意的谎话；无伤大雅的谎言

Examples from the Corpus

white lie• Do you get just a little sort of tap for a white lie but minced up for murder?• What's the harm of a white lie if it will make her feel better?• Why hadn't she told a white lie and claimed she had a licence?• What did it matter, a little white lie like that?

ˌwhite ˈlie nounChineseSyllable  

someone Corpus a that tell in lie you

white lie
ˌwhite ˈlie noun [countable] informal
a lie that you tell someone in order to protect them or avoid hurting their feelings

white lieBrE /ˌwaɪt ˈlaɪ/ 🔊NAmE /ˌwaɪt ˈlaɪ/ 🔊 nouna harmless or small lie, especially one that you tell to avoid hurting sb （尤指为避免伤害他人感情的）善意的谎言，小谎