English in a Minute: Paying Someone Lip Service

In life, we have to pay for a lot of things. But what could the expression “paying lip service” mean? 

D: You know, Anna, good friends are hard to find.  
A: Are they? I hadn’t noticed.  
D: My “friend” is always talking about how he loves to help others. But when I asked for his help, he said he was busy!  
A: Sounds like your friend was just paying you lip service. What did you need help with?  
D: Just moving my heavy couch up five flights of stairs. Oh hey, umm, are you…?
A: No, no, I’m really busy.  

Paying lip service is when you talk about doing something, but you don’t actually do it. Lip service can also mean you say you support a cause, but you don’t actually do anything helpful for it.  

 And that’s English is a Minute. 

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