45 Idioms for Lying

Lying is a common part of communication, and idioms help us express this concept in colorful and creative ways. In this article, we’ll explore 45 idioms that relate to dishonesty and the act of telling lies. Understanding these expressions can give insight into how language reflects human behavior.

These idioms capture the many forms of lying, from harmless fibs to blatant falsehoods. Let’s dive into some of the most vivid and interesting idiomatic expressions for dishonesty.

1. To Pull Someone’s Leg

  • Meaning: To joke or tease someone by telling a harmless lie.
  • In a Sentence: “Don’t believe him, he’s just pulling your leg about winning the lottery.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To tease, To joke around, To kid

2. To Fib

  • Meaning: To tell a small or insignificant lie, often one that’s not harmful.
  • In a Sentence: “She fibbed about finishing her homework early.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To tell a white lie, To stretch the truth, To tell a small untruth

3. To Spin a Yarn

  • Meaning: To tell an exaggerated or fabricated story, often for entertainment.
  • In a Sentence: “He spent hours spinning a yarn about his adventures in the jungle.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To weave a tale, To fabricate a story, To tell a tall tale

4. To Talk Through One’s Hat

  • Meaning: To speak nonsense or make up false information.
  • In a Sentence: “He’s talking through his hat when he says he can speak five languages fluently.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To talk nonsense, To babble, To blabber

5. To Have One’s Fingers Crossed

  • Meaning: To hope for a positive outcome while making a promise or telling a lie.
  • In a Sentence: “She said she’d be on time, but I have my fingers crossed she’ll actually show up.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To wish for luck, To hope for the best, To cross one’s fingers

6. To Stretch the Truth

  • Meaning: To exaggerate or embellish facts, often without outright lying.
  • In a Sentence: “He stretched the truth about his role in the project to sound more important.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To bend the truth, To exaggerate, To embellish

7. To Be Economical With the Truth

  • Meaning: To withhold key information or distort facts deliberately.
  • In a Sentence: “He was economical with the truth about his involvement in the prank.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To tell half-truths, To be selective with the truth, To distort the facts

8. To Beat Around the Bush

  • Meaning: To avoid directly addressing a topic, often to deceive or avoid answering.
  • In a Sentence: “Stop beating around the bush and tell me why you’re late.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To avoid the point, To skirt the issue, To dance around the topic

9. To Have a Poker Face

  • Meaning: To maintain a neutral or emotionless expression, especially when lying or hiding emotions.
  • In a Sentence: “He had a poker face when asked if he knew where the missing documents were.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To keep a straight face, To remain expressionless, To hide emotions

10. To Lie Through One’s Teeth

  • Meaning: To tell a bold and blatant lie without any guilt or hesitation.
  • In a Sentence: “He lied through his teeth when he denied taking the last cookie.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To lie shamelessly, To lie outright, To lie boldly

11. To Play Fast and Loose

  • Meaning: To act dishonestly or recklessly, ignoring rules or commitments.
  • In a Sentence: “You can’t trust him; he plays fast and loose with the truth.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To be deceitful, To disregard rules, To be unreliable

12. To Have a Forked Tongue

  • Meaning: To speak deceitfully, saying one thing and meaning another.
  • In a Sentence: “You can’t trust someone with a forked tongue like him.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To be two-faced, To be duplicitous, To speak with double meanings

13. To Cry Wolf

  • Meaning: To raise a false alarm or claim a problem that doesn’t exist.
  • In a Sentence: “Stop crying wolf about every little issue; we need to focus on real problems.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To sound a false alarm, To make empty threats, To exaggerate

14. To Weave a Web of Lies

  • Meaning: To create an intricate series of lies or false stories to cover up deceit.
  • In a Sentence: “He wove a web of lies to hide the truth about what happened at the party.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To spin a tangled web, To create a fabric of falsehoods, To tell elaborate lies

15. To Butter Someone Up

  • Meaning: To flatter someone excessively, often to manipulate or deceive.
  • In a Sentence: “He’s just buttering you up to get you to lend him your car.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To sweet-talk, To flatter, To charm

16. To Snake Oil

  • Meaning: To promote something fraudulent or ineffective, often deceptively.
  • In a Sentence: “Don’t buy his snake oil; it’s just another bogus weight loss product.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To peddle a scam, To sell a hoax, To promote a fake product

17. To Bury One’s Head in the Sand

  • Meaning: To ignore or deny an unpleasant truth or reality.
  • In a Sentence: “She’s burying her head in the sand if she thinks ignoring the problem will help.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To be in denial, To avoid facing the truth, To turn a blind eye
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18. To Whitewash

  • Meaning: To conceal or gloss over the truth, often to present a misleadingly positive image.
  • In a Sentence: “The company tried to whitewash its past mistakes in the new marketing campaign.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To cover up, To sweep under the rug, To sugarcoat

19. To Put on a False Front

  • Meaning: To pretend to be something one is not, often to deceive others.
  • In a Sentence: “She put on a false front of confidence during the presentation, though she was nervous.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To wear a mask, To fake it, To pretend to be something else

20. To Play the Blame Game

  • Meaning: To shift blame or responsibility onto others instead of owning up to mistakes.
  • In a Sentence: “He always plays the blame game when things go wrong, never taking responsibility himself.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To pass the buck, To shift the blame, To finger-point

21. To Be Caught Red-Handed

  • Meaning: To be caught in the act of doing something wrong or dishonest.
  • In a Sentence: “He was caught red-handed when the stolen money was found in his bag.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To be caught in the act, To get caught with one’s hand in the cookie jar, To be busted

22. To Speak with a Forked Tongue

  • Meaning: To speak deceitfully, often by making contradictory statements.
  • In a Sentence: “Politicians are known for speaking with a forked tongue when making promises they never intend to keep.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To talk out of both sides of one’s mouth, To be two-faced, To speak ambiguously

23. To Be Two-Faced

  • Meaning: To be deceitful, showing one face to someone while saying or doing something different behind their back.
  • In a Sentence: “I can’t trust her—she’s always two-faced about what she says to people.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To have a forked tongue, To speak with a double standard, To be duplicitous

24. To Throw Someone Under the Bus

  • Meaning: To betray someone or blame them unfairly to save oneself or avoid trouble.
  • In a Sentence: “He threw his colleague under the bus by blaming him for the mistake during the meeting.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To sell someone out, To scapegoat, To backstab

25. To Get Away with Murder

  • Meaning: To do something wrong or dishonest without being caught or punished.
  • In a Sentence: “He’s been getting away with murder in the office for years, making mistakes but never facing any consequences.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To escape punishment, To avoid the consequences, To be above the law

26. To Stretch the Facts

  • Meaning: To exaggerate the truth or distort facts to make them seem more impressive or dramatic.
  • In a Sentence: “She stretched the facts about how much work she did on the project to look better in front of the boss.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To embellish, To exaggerate, To embellish the truth

27. To Be a Smooth Talker

  • Meaning: To speak in a charming or persuasive way, often with the intent to deceive.
  • In a Sentence: “He’s such a smooth talker, convincing everyone to invest in his questionable business idea.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To sweet-talk, To charm, To flatter

28. To Lead Someone Up the Garden Path

  • Meaning: To deceive or mislead someone, often by giving them false hopes or expectations.
  • In a Sentence: “She led me up the garden path, making me think I had a job offer when it was just a test interview.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To mislead, To deceive, To pull the wool over someone’s eyes

29. To Be in the Doghouse

  • Meaning: To be in trouble or disfavor due to something dishonest or wrong.
  • In a Sentence: “After lying about where he was last night, he’s definitely in the doghouse now.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To be in hot water, To be in trouble, To be on thin ice

30. To Pull the Wool Over Someone’s Eyes

  • Meaning: To deceive or trick someone into believing something false.
  • In a Sentence: “He pulled the wool over her eyes with that fake investment scheme.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To mislead, To deceive, To hoodwink

31. To Cook the Books

  • Meaning: To falsify financial records or manipulate information to hide the truth.
  • In a Sentence: “The accountant was caught cooking the books to cover up the company’s losses.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To falsify records, To commit fraud, To manipulate finances

32. To Make a Mountain Out of a Molehill

  • Meaning: To exaggerate a small problem or issue into something much larger than it actually is.
  • In a Sentence: “Stop making a mountain out of a molehill; it’s just a minor mistake.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To overreact, To blow things out of proportion, To exaggerate the issue

33. To Put a Spin on Something

  • Meaning: To present something in a biased or deceptive way, often to make it look better than it really is.
  • In a Sentence: “The politician put a spin on the new policy to make it seem like it would benefit everyone.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To twist the truth, To distort facts, To present misleading information
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34. To Mask the Truth

  • Meaning: To hide or obscure the truth in order to mislead someone.
  • In a Sentence: “He masked the truth about the company’s declining sales during the meeting.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To cover up, To disguise, To conceal

35. To Be All Hat and No Cattle

  • Meaning: To make bold claims or promises without the ability to back them up.
  • In a Sentence: “He’s all hat and no cattle when it comes to actually following through on his promises.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To talk big, To boast without substance, To make empty promises

36. To Be Full of Hot Air

  • Meaning: To talk in an exaggerated or empty way, often without any real substance or truth.
  • In a Sentence: “All his promises are full of hot air; he never actually does anything.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To talk nonsense, To be all talk, To babble

37. To Pull a Fast One

  • Meaning: To deceive or trick someone in a clever or sneaky way.
  • In a Sentence: “They pulled a fast one on the investors by showing them falsified reports.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To deceive, To trick, To hoodwink

38. To Beat the System

  • Meaning: To find a way to cheat or deceive the system or rules, usually for personal gain.
  • In a Sentence: “He always manages to beat the system and get out of paying taxes.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To game the system, To manipulate the rules, To cheat the system

39. To Fake It Till You Make It

  • Meaning: To pretend to be successful or confident until one actually becomes so.
  • In a Sentence: “She faked it till she made it, pretending to be an expert in the field until she truly became one.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To bluff, To pretend, To feign confidence

40. To Make Something Up

  • Meaning: To create a false story or explanation, often in a moment of need or to cover up something.
  • In a Sentence: “He made up an excuse about being late because he didn’t want to tell the truth.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To fabricate, To invent, To concoct

41. To Play Both Sides of the Fence

  • Meaning: To support or deceive both parties in a situation, often for personal gain.
  • In a Sentence: “She’s playing both sides of the fence by pretending to agree with both the manager and the workers.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To be two-faced, To double-cross, To be duplicitous

42. To Lie Like a Rug

  • Meaning: To lie blatantly and without shame.
  • In a Sentence: “He lied like a rug about being at home when his friends saw him at the club.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To lie through one’s teeth, To lie shamelessly, To tell a blatant lie

43. To Tell a White Lie

  • Meaning: To tell a small, harmless lie, often to avoid hurting someone’s feelings.
  • In a Sentence: “I told her a white lie about liking her new dress so she wouldn’t feel bad.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To fib, To stretch the truth, To tell a little untruth

44. To Keep Someone in the Dark

  • Meaning: To intentionally keep someone uninformed or unaware of the truth.
  • In a Sentence: “They kept me in the dark about the surprise party, so I wouldn’t spoil it.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To withhold information, To keep someone clueless, To conceal the truth

45. To Sweep Something Under the Rug

  • Meaning: To hide or ignore something that is unpleasant or uncomfortable, typically a mistake or wrongdoing.
  • In a Sentence: “They tried to sweep the corruption under the rug by firing the whistleblower.”
  • Other Ways to Say: To cover up, To ignore, To conceal

Idioms for Lying – Quiz

1. What does the idiom “To speak with a forked tongue” mean?

a) To speak in a straightforward manner
b) To speak deceitfully or make contradictory statements
c) To talk nonsense
Answer: b) To speak deceitfully or make contradictory statements

2. What does it mean to “Stretch the facts”?

a) To tell the truth
b) To exaggerate the truth or distort facts
c) To keep the facts unchanged
Answer: b) To exaggerate the truth or distort facts

3. If someone is “Caught red-handed,” they are:

a) Caught in the act of doing something wrong
b) Caught by surprise
c) Found with evidence of innocence
Answer: a) Caught in the act of doing something wrong

4. “To beat the system” means:

a) To follow the rules correctly
b) To cheat or deceive the system for personal gain
c) To improve the system
Answer: b) To cheat or deceive the system for personal gain

5. What does the idiom “To put a spin on something” mean?

a) To twist the truth or present it in a biased way
b) To share the truth without any changes
c) To speak in a literal manner
Answer: a) To twist the truth or present it in a biased way

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6. What does “To be all hat and no cattle” imply?

a) Someone is full of empty promises and cannot back them up
b) Someone is quiet but effective
c) Someone is resourceful and dependable
Answer: a) Someone is full of empty promises and cannot back them up

7. “To throw someone under the bus” means:

a) To protect someone from danger
b) To betray someone or blame them unfairly
c) To help someone in a difficult situation
Answer: b) To betray someone or blame them unfairly

8. “To fake it till you make it” means:

a) To act confidently until you achieve success
b) To pretend to be someone else
c) To avoid taking responsibility
Answer: a) To act confidently until you achieve success

9. If someone is “in the doghouse,” they are:

a) In a state of comfort
b) In trouble or disfavor due to something dishonest
c) Ignored by others
Answer: b) In trouble or disfavor due to something dishonest

10. “To cover one’s tracks” means:

a) To reveal the truth
b) To hide or conceal evidence of wrongdoing
c) To admit mistakes
Answer: b) To hide or conceal evidence of wrongdoing

11. If someone is “full of hot air,” they are:

a) Speaking with great clarity
b) Talking in an exaggerated or empty manner
c) Speaking with important knowledge
Answer: b) Talking in an exaggerated or empty manner

12. To “make a mountain out of a molehill” means:

a) To exaggerate a small problem
b) To solve a large issue
c) To avoid problems
Answer: a) To exaggerate a small problem

13. “To mask the truth” means:

a) To conceal the truth intentionally
b) To present the truth as it is
c) To speak plainly about the truth
Answer: a) To conceal the truth intentionally

14. “To pull a fast one” refers to:

a) To deceive or trick someone in a clever way
b) To reveal the truth quickly
c) To perform an honest action
Answer: a) To deceive or trick someone in a clever way

15. What does “To be a smooth talker” mean?

a) To talk openly and truthfully
b) To speak charmingly and persuasively, often to deceive
c) To talk with a lot of pauses and hesitations
Answer: b) To speak charmingly and persuasively, often to deceive

16. “To play both sides of the fence” means:

a) To support both parties in a situation for personal gain
b) To avoid taking a side
c) To argue for both viewpoints without preference
Answer: a) To support both parties in a situation for personal gain

17. “To get away with murder” refers to:

a) To commit a crime and face the consequences
b) To do something wrong without being caught or punished
c) To help someone avoid being punished
Answer: b) To do something wrong without being caught or punished

18. “To tell a white lie” means:

a) To tell a harmless or small lie
b) To tell an outrageous lie
c) To admit the truth
Answer: a) To tell a harmless or small lie

19. “To tell a cock and bull story” refers to:

a) Telling a factual account of events
b) Telling a far-fetched or unbelievable tale
c) Telling a short story
Answer: b) Telling a far-fetched or unbelievable tale

20. “To lie like a rug” means:

a) To lie in a very obvious or shameless way
b) To tell a subtle, harmless lie
c) To avoid lying completely
Answer: a) To lie in a very obvious or shameless way

21. What does “To beat a dead horse” mean?

a) To continue discussing an issue that’s already resolved
b) To solve an unresolved issue
c) To avoid discussing issues
Answer: a) To continue discussing an issue that’s already resolved

22. “To dodge the truth” refers to:

a) To face the truth directly
b) To avoid answering a question or facing the truth
c) To tell the truth
Answer: b) To avoid answering a question or facing the truth

23. If someone is “burying their head in the sand,” they are:

a) Ignoring or denying unpleasant truths
b) Solving problems head-on
c) Helping others to face the truth
Answer: a) Ignoring or denying unpleasant truths

24. “To spin a yarn” means:

a) To tell a truthful story
b) To tell a long and exaggerated story
c) To tell a very short story
Answer: b) To tell a long and exaggerated story

25. “To play fast and loose” means:

a) To behave honestly and responsibly
b) To behave dishonestly or recklessly
c) To follow all the rules strictly
Answer: b) To behave dishonestly or recklessly

Conclusion

Idioms for lying offer a creative and vivid way to express dishonesty and deception in language. From exaggerations and half-truths to outright fabrications, these expressions not only enrich our conversations but also reflect the complex nature of human behavior.

Understanding these idioms enhances our comprehension of language and communication, allowing us to recognize when truth is being distorted or hidden. Whether in casual discussions or more serious contexts, these idioms serve as powerful tools for conveying the nuances of lying.

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