pitch somebody a line
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpitch somebody a linepitch somebody a lineAmerican English informalTELL/ORDER somebody TO DO something to tell someone a story or give them an excuse that is difficult to believe She pitched me some line about a bomb scare on the metro. → pitchExamples from the Corpuspitch somebody a line• The Michigan governor, John Engler, pitched that line for Bush last weekend.