solid alibi
5
3.8
- noun
- /ˈsɑːlɪd ˈælɪbaɪ/
:
coartada sólida
- That's a solid alibi.
- a solid alibi
- a solid alibi for Tuesday night
- got a solid alibi
Examples
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Troy's got a solid alibi for when Emma was shot.
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GREY: I mean, because I got a pretty solid alibi here, - if you haven't noticed.
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Miss Clark has a solid alibi.
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We know that she had some involvement in her sons' deaths but she has a solid alibi.
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He had a solid alibi.
Fiction book (2001) -
He had a solid alibi for both nights.
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Abigail, his wife of one month, was similarly out of town with a rock-solid alibi during his murder.
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Troy's got a solid alibi for when Emma was shot.
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If you do not have a solid alibi, I will have that agent out there come inside and arrest you.
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Well, if your client has a solid alibi, what would we charge her with?
Synonyms
2
5.8
Very strong proof that someone was somewhere else and cannot be proved wrong
1
4.4
Strong, clear proof that shows someone was not at a crime scene
How Convincing
2
5.8
5
3.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a strong or convincing excuse proving someone was elsewhere' is directly derivable from combining 'solid' (strong, dependable) with 'alibi' (evidence of absence). This ADJ+N pattern is compositional and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituent words would readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Solid alibi pairs solid (meaning 'strong') with alibi, an old legal word that meant 'elsewhere'. Imagine showing a ticket and friends who all say you were somewhere else; because this proof is strong, the phrase means 'a good excuse that shows you were not at the crime'.