fact is stranger than fiction

fact is stranger than fiction

proverb Real life is filled such bizarre, absurd, or unlikely events that it can be hard to believe they are not fictional. A piece of metal that had embedded itself in the patient's abdomen from the accident actually deflected the bullet away from any vital organs. I tell you, sometimes fact is stranger than fiction.
See also: fact, fiction, stranger
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

Fact is stranger than fiction,

 and Truth is stranger than fiction.
Prov. Things that really happen are harder to believe or more amazing than stories that people invent. Did you see the story in the newspaper about the criminal who attacks people with a toenail clipper? Fact is stranger than fiction! Jill: I can't believe someone's paying 900 dollars for Tom's broken-down old car—it doesn't even run. Jane: Truth is stranger than fiction.
See also: fact, fiction, stranger
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • teach a man to fish
  • change horses in midstream, don't
  • it takes a village
  • village
  • be the spice of life
  • best-laid plans go astray, the
  • the best-laid plans
  • the best-laid plans go astray
  • the best-laid plans of mice and men
  • for want of a nail
References in periodicals archive
If fact is stranger than fiction let us hope that will not be the case should Brexit win the referendum.
Decision time for country
They say fact is stranger than fiction and no more so than in the world of so-called reality TV.
Bigger Brother
Still I frequently think that fact is stranger than fiction. I am less than a week back from the States, and when I was there went to see the remake of the classic political thriller, The Manchurian Candidate, starring Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep.
VIEW FROM SLANE CASTLE: Race for Oval Office gets down and dirty
Charlie really is a case where fact is stranger than fiction.
Record View: Fairytale prince