a lie
Fai davvero la ricerca o mi hai detto una frottola?
Are you really doing the research or are you telling me a lie?
— Tesis (1996)
It's a load of rubbish.
Allora, anche la storia del divorzio era una frottola.
So, the story about the divorce was a tall tale, too.
— I diabolici (1955)