38 Idioms for Lying

Idioms for lying provide colorful expressions that capture the essence of deception and untruthfulness. These phrases reflect not only the act of lying but also the emotions and consequences that come with it, enriching our conversations and writing.

In this article, you’ll explore 38 idioms that convey the nuances of dishonesty. Each idiom is accompanied by its meaning and usage, helping you understand how to incorporate them into your everyday language effectively.

Idioms for Lying

1. To tell a tall tale

• Meaning: To tell an exaggerated or improbable story.
• In a Sentence: “When he said he ran a marathon without training, I knew he was telling a tall tale.”
• Other Ways to Say: To spin a yarn, to exaggerate, to stretch the truth.

2. To pull the wool over someone’s eyes

• Meaning: To deceive someone by hiding the truth.
• In a Sentence: “She thought she could pull the wool over her parents’ eyes, but they found out the truth.”
• Other Ways to Say: To deceive, to hoodwink, to mislead.

3. To bend the truth

• Meaning: To distort or alter the truth slightly.
• In a Sentence: “He tends to bend the truth when it comes to his achievements.”
• Other Ways to Say: To stretch the truth, to tweak the facts, to alter reality.

4. To lie through one’s teeth

• Meaning: To lie blatantly and with confidence.
• In a Sentence: “He was lying through his teeth when he said he hadn’t seen her.”
• Other Ways to Say: To be dishonest, to deceive outright, to tell blatant lies.

5. To put on a front

• Meaning: To pretend to be something one is not.
• In a Sentence: “She put on a front of confidence, but inside, she was nervous.”
• Other Ways to Say: To act, to masquerade, to feign.

6. To fib

• Meaning: To tell a small or trivial lie.
• In a Sentence: “It’s just a little fib; I didn’t want to hurt their feelings.”
• Other Ways to Say: To lie lightly, to tell a white lie, to stretch the truth.

7. To speak with a forked tongue

• Meaning: To speak deceitfully or ambiguously.
• In a Sentence: “Politicians often speak with a forked tongue to gain votes.”
• Other Ways to Say: To be duplicitous, to mislead, to prevaricate.

8. To tell a whopper

• Meaning: To tell a very big lie.
• In a Sentence: “He told a whopper about winning the lottery.”
• Other Ways to Say: To exaggerate, to fabricate, to make up a story.

9. To beat around the bush

• Meaning: To avoid getting to the point, often while being dishonest.
• In a Sentence: “Stop beating around the bush and just tell me the truth.”
• Other Ways to Say: To be evasive, to avoid the issue, to speak indirectly.

10. To play fast and loose

• Meaning: To act carelessly or irresponsibly, especially concerning the truth.
• In a Sentence: “He played fast and loose with the facts during his presentation.”
• Other Ways to Say: To be reckless, to take liberties, to disregard the truth.

11. Idioms for Lying To pull a fast one

• Meaning: To deceive someone cleverly.
• In a Sentence: “I can’t believe he pulled a fast one on me with that fake story!”
• Other Ways to Say: To trick, to scam, to con.

12. To snow someone

• Meaning: To deceive or impress someone with a flurry of words or actions.
• In a Sentence: “He tried to snow me with technical jargon, but I saw through it.”
• Other Ways to Say: To bamboozle, to hoodwink, to overwhelm.

13. To be economical with the truth

• Meaning: To be deliberately vague or misleading about the truth.
• In a Sentence: “He was economical with the truth regarding his previous job.”
• Other Ways to Say: To be evasive, to not tell the whole story, to be vague.

14. To make up a story

• Meaning: To invent a lie or a fictional account.
• In a Sentence: “She made up a story about why she was late.”
• Other Ways to Say: To fabricate, to invent, to concoct.

15. To lead someone on

• Meaning: To deceive someone by giving false hope.
• In a Sentence: “He led her on, making her think he was interested in a relationship.”
• Other Ways to Say: To mislead, to deceive, to give false expectations.

16. To throw someone a curveball

• Meaning: To surprise someone with unexpected information, often misleading.
• In a Sentence: “His sudden change of story threw me a curveball.”
• Other Ways to Say: To surprise, to mislead, to confound.

17. To speak with a double tongue

• Meaning: To express contradictory ideas or falsehoods.
• In a Sentence: “His comments were full of double talk, leaving everyone confused.”
• Other Ways to Say: To be ambiguous, to speak deceptively, to contradict oneself.

18. To have a hidden agenda

• Meaning: To have undisclosed motives for actions or statements.
• In a Sentence: “She seemed friendly, but I sensed she had a hidden agenda.”
• Other Ways to Say: To have ulterior motives, to be secretive, to disguise intentions.

19. To sell a bill of goods

• Meaning: To deceive someone into believing something untrue.
• In a Sentence: “He sold me a bill of goods about his investment scheme.”
• Other Ways to Say: To deceive, to con, to trick.

20. To cry wolf

• Meaning: To raise a false alarm, leading to disbelief when something real occurs.
• In a Sentence: “After he cried wolf so many times, no one believed him when he was in real trouble.”
• Other Ways to Say: To mislead, to exaggerate danger, to falsely alarm.

21. Idioms for Lying To spin a tale

• Meaning: To tell a story that may be exaggerated or fabricated.
• In a Sentence: “He spun a tale about his adventures, but I had my doubts.”
• Other Ways to Say: To tell a story, to weave a narrative, to fabricate.

22. To dance around the truth

• Meaning: To avoid directly addressing the truth.
• In a Sentence: “Stop dancing around the truth and tell me what really happened.”
• Other Ways to Say: To evade, to skirt the issue, to be indirect.

23. To be on shaky ground

• Meaning: To be in a precarious situation, often related to dishonesty.
• In a Sentence: “His claims were on shaky ground after the evidence came out.”
• Other Ways to Say: To be in a risky position, to be insecure, to lack stability.

24. To pull the rug out from under someone

• Meaning: To suddenly withdraw support or protection, often unexpectedly.
• In a Sentence: “When she revealed the truth, it felt like he pulled the rug out from under me.”
• Other Ways to Say: To betray, to undermine, to deceive.

25. To cast doubt

• Meaning: To cause others to question the truth or validity of something.
• In a Sentence: “His inconsistent statements cast doubt on his honesty.”
• Other Ways to Say: To create uncertainty, to mislead, to cause suspicion.

26. To give someone the runaround

• Meaning: To evade or delay giving someone the information they need.
• In a Sentence: “The customer service team gave me the runaround instead of answering my question.”
• Other Ways to Say: To stall, to mislead, to avoid direct answers.

27. To have your head in the clouds

• Meaning: To be unrealistic or not aware of the truth.
• In a Sentence: “He has his head in the clouds if he thinks he can get away with that lie.”
• Other Ways to Say: To be unrealistic, to be naive, to be out of touch.

28. To be a snake in the grass

• Meaning: To be treacherous or deceitful while appearing innocent.
• In a Sentence: “I thought he was my friend, but he turned out to be a snake in the grass.”
• Other Ways to Say: To be duplicitous, to be treacherous, to be a backstabber.

29. To play the victim

• Meaning: To act as though one is the victim in a situation, often to deceive.
• In a Sentence: “He always plays the victim to gain sympathy from others.”
• Other Ways to Say: To feign innocence, to act wronged, to manipulate perceptions.

30. To keep someone in the dark

• Meaning: To keep someone uninformed about the truth.
• In a Sentence: “They kept me in the dark about the real reasons for the delay.”
• Other Ways to Say: To withhold information, to deceive, to obscure the truth.

31. Idioms for Lying To be two-faced

• Meaning: To be deceitful or hypocritical, presenting different personas.
• In a Sentence: “I can’t trust her; she’s so two-faced with her friends.”
• Other Ways to Say: To be duplicitous, to be hypocritical, to be insincere.

32. To hide behind a mask

• Meaning: To conceal one’s true intentions or feelings.
• In a Sentence: “He hides behind a mask of charm, but I know he’s dishonest.”
• Other Ways to Say: To disguise oneself, to pretend, to conceal true motives.

33. To keep up appearances

• Meaning: To maintain a facade that may be misleading.
• In a Sentence: “They keep up appearances despite their financial troubles.”
• Other Ways to Say: To maintain a facade, to pretend, to act.

34. To tell a white lie

• Meaning: To tell a harmless or trivial lie, often to avoid hurting someone.
• In a Sentence: “I told a white lie about liking her dress to spare her feelings.”
• Other Ways to Say: To fib, to tell a small lie, to be tactful.

35. To pull the strings

• Meaning: To control or manipulate someone from behind the scenes.
• In a Sentence: “She pulls the strings in the organization, making all the decisions.”
• Other Ways to Say: To manipulate, to control, to influence secretly.

36. To be a master of deception

• Meaning: To be very skilled at lying and misleading.
• In a Sentence: “He’s a master of deception; it’s hard to know when he’s telling the truth.”
• Other Ways to Say: To be cunning, to be deceptive, to be sly.

37. To throw someone under the bus

• Meaning: To betray someone for personal gain, often by lying.
• In a Sentence: “He threw his colleague under the bus to save his own job.”
• Other Ways to Say: To betray, to sacrifice, to abandon.

38. To play it fast and loose

• Meaning: To act carelessly or irresponsibly regarding the truth.
• In a Sentence: “He plays it fast and loose with the facts, making it hard to trust him.”
• Other Ways to Say: To be reckless, to disregard truth, to take liberties.

Quiz on Idioms for Lying

1. What does “to tell a tall tale” mean?

• A) To tell the truth
• B) To tell an exaggerated story
• C) To be quiet
• Answer: B) To tell an exaggerated story

2. Which idiom means to deceive someone by hiding the truth?

• A) To pull the wool over someone’s eyes
• B) To fib
• C) To tell a whopper
• Answer: A) To pull the wool over someone’s eyes

3. What does “to speak with a forked tongue” imply?

• A) To be honest
• B) To speak deceitfully
• C) To communicate clearly
• Answer: B) To speak deceitfully

4. “To cry wolf” refers to:

• A) Raising a false alarm
• B) Telling the truth
• C) Being honest
• Answer: A) Raising a false alarm

5. Which idiom indicates pretending to be something one is not?

• A) To play fast and loose
• B) To put on a front
• C) To cast doubt
• Answer: B) To put on a front

6. What does “to lie through one’s teeth” mean?

• A) To be truthful
• B) To lie blatantly
• C) To tell a harmless lie
• Answer: B) To lie blatantly

7. “To bend the truth” suggests:

• A) To tell the absolute truth
• B) To distort the truth slightly
• C) To be completely honest
• Answer: B) To distort the truth slightly

8. Which idiom represents a very big lie?

• A) To pull a fast one
• B) To tell a whopper
• C) To make up a story
• Answer: B) To tell a whopper

9. What does “to lead someone on” mean?

• A) To guide someone
• B) To deceive someone by giving false hope
• C) To provide honest advice
• Answer: B) To deceive someone by giving false hope

10. “To dance around the truth” implies:

• A) To be straightforward
• B) To avoid addressing the truth directly
• C) To speak clearly
• Answer: B) To avoid addressing the truth directly

Conclusion

Idioms for lying enrich our language, allowing us to express dishonesty and deception in creative ways. From telling tall tales to pulling the wool over someone’s eyes, these idioms capture the complexity of untruths. By using these expressions, you can effectively communicate the nuances of dishonesty and add depth to your conversations.