To understand the implications of another's words or actions; to see beyond the explicit

The politician stated he does not approve of the KKK, however, reading between the lines of his last speech, it is obvious that he is a racist

Il famoso uomo politico ha dichiarato di non avere simpatie per il KKK, ma, leggendo tra le righe del suo ultimo discorso, si capisce chiaramente che è razzista

A smart foreign correspondent can often avoid censorship by carefully wording, leaving its audience to read between the lines

Uno scaltro corrispondente estero può spesso evitare la censura pesando attentamente le parole e lasciando al suo pubblico l'incombenza di capire leggendo tra le righe

Reading between the lines, as they say, the famous politician was accused of being corrupted by the journalist

Scendendo per i rami, come si dice, il noto politico si è sentito dare del corrotto dal giornalista

The meaning of the expression was once literal. One method of cryptogrammic communication was the use of invisible ink for writing between the lines. Thus, "Reading between the lines" was the way to get the real message