stretch the truth
Fib a little
To stretch the truth is to exaggerate or distort facts while stopping short of outright lying.
The metaphor suggests pulling truth beyond its natural shape—technically still true but misleading: He stretched the truth about his qualifications on the résumé.
The phrase implies intent to deceive while maintaining plausible deniability.
- fibTrivial, harmless falsehood
- exaggerateOverstate beyond truth
- overstateRepresent as greater
- prevaricateSpeak misleadingly to deceive
- cook the booksFraudulently alter financial records
hyperbole · fish story · magnify · white lie · distortion · equivocation · spin a yarn · fabrication · gild the lily · embellishment · tall tale · spin · misrepresent · sensationalism · sugarcoat · gloss over · mislead · fudge
- deceptionlie, lies, lying, fake, fraud
- tall talesPaul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, John Henry, Johnny Appleseed, Davy Crockett
stretch the truthtell the truth
Communicate facts honestly
be honest · speak the truth · tell it like it is · speak plainly · lay it on the line
stretch the truthfabricate
Invent or manufacture
lie through one's teeth · bear false witness · lie · make up · invent
truth, stretch, stretching, stretched, stretches, overstretch, overstretched, overstretching, overstretches