Lies
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lie 1
(lī)intr.v. lay (lā), lain (lān), ly·ing (lī′ĭng), lies
1. To be or place oneself at rest in a flat, horizontal, or recumbent position; recline: He lay under a tree to sleep.
2. To be placed on or supported by a surface that is usually horizontal: Dirty dishes lay on the table. See Usage Note at lay1.
3. To be or remain in a specified condition: The dust has lain undisturbed for years. He lay sick in bed.
4.
a. To exist; reside: Our sympathies lie with the plaintiff.
b. To consist or have as a basis. Often used with in: The strength of his performance lies in his training.
5. To occupy a position or place: The lake lies beyond this hill.
6. To extend: Our land lies between these trees and the river.
7. To be buried in a specified place.
8. Law To be admissible or maintainable.
9. Archaic To stay for a night or short while.
n.
Phrasal Verbs: 1. The manner or position in which something is situated.
2. A haunt or hiding place of an animal.
3. Sports The position of a golf ball that has come to a stop.
lie down
To do little or nothing: He's lying down on the job.
lie in
To be in confinement for childbirth.
lie to Nautical
To remain stationary while facing the wind.
lie with
Idiom: 1. To be decided by, dependent on, or up to: The choice lies with you.
2. Archaic To have sexual intercourse with.
lielow
1. To keep oneself or one's plans hidden.
2. To bide one's time but remain ready for action.
lie 2
(lī)n.
1. A false statement deliberately presented as being true; a falsehood.
2. Something meant to deceive or mistakenly accepted as true: learned his parents had been swindlers and felt his whole childhood had been a lie.
v. lied, ly·ing (lī′ĭng), lies
v.intr.
1. To present false information with the intention of deceiving.
2. To convey a false image or impression: Appearances often lie.
v.tr.
Idiom: To say or write as a lie.
lie through (one's) teeth
To lie outrageously or brazenly.
Synonyms: lie2, equivocate, fib, prevaricate
These verbs mean to evade or depart from the truth: a witness who lied under oath; didn't equivocate about her real purpose; fibbed to escape being scolded; didn't prevaricate but answered honestly.
These verbs mean to evade or depart from the truth: a witness who lied under oath; didn't equivocate about her real purpose; fibbed to escape being scolded; didn't prevaricate but answered honestly.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Lies/Liars
See Also: DISHONESTY
- Falsehood, like poison, will generally be rejected when administered alone; but when blended with wholesome ingredients, may be swallowed unperceived —Richard Whately
- Falsehood, like the dry rot, flourishes the more in proportion as air and light are excluded —Richard Whately
- A great lie is like a great fish on dry land; it may fret and fling, and make a frightful bother, but it cannot hurt you. You have only to keep still and it will die of itself —George Crabbe
- (He’s as) honest as the cat when the meat’s out of reach —H. G. Bohn’s Handbook of Proverbs
- Lie as fast as a dog can lick a dish —John Ray’s Proverbs
- Lied as often and as badly as politicians —James Crumley
- Lied like a fish —John Dos Passos
- Lied like an Arab —Ana’s Nin
- Lied like a rug —Anon
In his novel, private I Jimmy Sangster extends this with “Lying like a cheap carpet.”
- The lie fell as easily from his lips as a windfall apple —Donald Seaman
- A lie is like a snowball; the longer it is rolled, the larger it is —Martin Luther
- Lie like a trooper —American colloquialism, attributed to New England
- Lie like fish —Saul Bellow
- Lies are as communicative as fleas —Walter Savage Landor
- Lies as fast as a dog trots —John Ray’s Proverbs
- Lies as fast as a horse can trot —Danish proverb
The comparison tends to change with use “As fast as a dog can trot” being one of the most frequently heard variants.
- Lies … buzz about the heads of some people, like flies about a horse’s ears in summer —Jonathan Swift
- Lies fall like flaxen thread from the skies —John Ashbery
- Lies flew out of my mouth like moths —Susan Fromberg Schaeffer
- Lies like a car-dealer —William Mcllvanney
- Lying like a book —Bertold Brecht
- Lying like an accountant at an audit —A. E. Maxwell
- Lying like stink —Angus Wilson
- Lying to someone is like blindfolding him: you cannot see the other’s eyes to see how he sees you and so you do not know how it stands with yourself —Walker Percy
- The nimble lie is like the second-hand upon a clock; we see it fly, while the hour-hand of truth seems to stand still, and yet it moves unseen, and wins at last, for the clock will not strike till it has reached the goal —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- (Our) one white lie sits like a little ghost (here on the threshold of our enterprise) —Alfred, Lord Tennyson
- The prevaricator is like an idolater —Eleazar
- The telling of a falsehood is like the cut of a sabre; for though the wound may heal, the scar of it will remain —Sadi
- To tell a falsehood is like the cut of a sabre; for though the wound may heal, the scar of it will remain —Sadi
- When the lie was said it had the effect of leaving her breathless, as if she had just crowned a steep rise —Nadine Gordimer
Similes Dictionary, 1st Edition. © 1988 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.