to let somebody off the hook

let someone off the hook
idiom
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(also get someone off the hook)
to allow someone to escape from a difficult situation:
John's agreed to go to the meeting in my place so that lets me off the hook.
He denied leaking the documents to get himself off the hook.
 SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Not punishing & reducing punishment
absolveamnestybe off the hook idiomclear of somethingcommutationdischargeget away with murder idiomget off lightly phraseget off phrasal verbhookimpunitylet someone off phrasal verblightlyprivilegeremitreprieveroyal pardonscot-freesovereign immunityspare
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(Definition of let someone off the hook from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)
 
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let someone in on something phrasal verb
let someone know idiom
let someone loose idiom
let someone off phrasal verb
let someone off the hook idiom
let someone/something in phrasal verb
let someone/something out phrasal verb
let something be known idiom
let something go/pass idiom