Pinocchio
Nose-growing puppet
Pinocchio is the wooden puppet whose nose grows when he lies, from the 1883 Italian children's novel by Carlo Collodi.
The character has become shorthand for a liar or someone whose dishonesty is obvious: His Pinocchio moment came during the debate.
The name evokes both the lie itself and its inevitable exposure.
Woodworker who carved a puppet-boy
- wooden puppetCarved articulated figure
- noseOlfactory facial organ
- liesDeliberate untruths
- Blue FairyMagical maternal spirit figure
donkey · whale · conscience · marionette · Italy · Pleasure Island · Figaro · Cleo
String-controlled theatrical figure
- woodenMade from timber
- carvedCut to create form
- stringsThin flexible lines
- jointedHaving flexible connections
handcrafted · articulated · inanimate · lifeless · animated · manipulation · controlled · toy
Innocently unsuspecting
- innocentFree from moral wrong
- gullibleEasily deceived
- manipulatedControlled through cunning
- temptationUrge toward the unwise
conscience · transformation · maturation · redemption · autonomy · obedience · disobedience · morality
One who speaks falsely
- fibbingTelling minor falsehoods
- tall talesFantastical exaggerated stories
- untruthA false statement
- fabricationDeliberately untrue statement
telltale sign · exaggeration · caught lying · dishonesty · transparent · giveaway · betrayal · falsehood
Geppetto
Woodworker who carved a puppet-boy
- wooden puppetCarved articulated figure
- noseOlfactory facial organ
- liesDeliberate untruths
Blue Fairy · donkey · whale · conscience · marionette · Italy · Pleasure Island · Figaro · Cleo · workshop
marionette
String-controlled theatrical figure
jointed · handcrafted · articulated · inanimate · lifeless · animated · manipulation · controlled · toy · figurine
naive
Innocently unsuspecting
- innocentFree from moral wrong
- gullibleEasily deceived
- manipulatedControlled through cunning
temptation · conscience · transformation · maturation · redemption · autonomy · obedience · disobedience · morality · growing up
liar
One who speaks falsely
- fibbingTelling minor falsehoods
- tall talesFantastical exaggerated stories
- untruthA false statement
fabrication · telltale sign · exaggeration · caught lying · dishonesty · transparent · giveaway · betrayal · falsehood · deceit
animated
Full of life, or drawn moving
Jiminy Cricket · animation · studio · Fantasia · Dumbo · childhood · nostalgic · musical · Academy Award · Walt
- DisneyWalt Disney, Mickey Mouse, Disney, Minnie Mouse, Goofy
- puppetryhand puppet, hand puppets, puppet shows, puppet show, marionette
- boy heroesHarry Potter, Peter Pan, Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, Huckleberry Finn
- cautionary talesIcarus, Prometheus, Faust, Dr. Faustus, Pandora
- childhood loretooth fairy, Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, boogeyman, monster under bed
- Dollsrag doll, china doll, china dolls, bisque doll, vintage doll
Pinocchioflesh and blood
One's close relatives
real boy · human being · real person · authentic self · genuine article
PinocchioGeorge Washington
Honest Abe · truth-teller · Jiminy Cricket · straight shooter · the boy who cried wolf