web of lies
Interconnected false stories
A web of lies is an interconnected system of falsehoods, where each lie requires additional lies to support it.
The metaphor captures how deception compounds—one untruth leads to another until the liar is tangled in their own fabrication: His alibi unraveled, revealing a web of lies about where he'd been that night.
The phrase implies eventual collapse under the weight of accumulated dishonesty.
- deceptionIntentional misleading of others
- tangledTwisted confusedly together
- deceitDeliberate misleading of others
- fabricationDeliberately untrue statement
- tall taleWildly exaggerated story
dishonesty · manipulation · smoke and mirrors · false pretenses · spider · threads · unravel · caught · sticky · betrayal · trust issues · spinning · trap · snare · twisted · intricate · house of cards · cover-up
- deceptionlying, fake, fraud, cheat, trick
- predicamentspredicament, dilemma, bind, pickle, pinch
- tanglestangle, knot, snarl, jumble, mess
- Web thingscobweb, website, webmaster
- metaphorsbroken heart, dead metaphor, mixed metaphor, time is money, extended metaphor
web of liesthe whole truth
unvarnished truth · gospel truth · plain truth · full disclosure · the facts
web of liesintegrity
Moral soundness and consistency
honesty · trustworthiness · forthrightness · candor · sincerity