lied

Related to lied: dictionary

lie (one's) way into (something or some place)

To obtain something or gain access to a particular place or thing through deceit. We tried to lie our way into the party, but we were immediately recognized as freshmen and told to leave. He didn't actually have any of the proper certifications—he just lied his way into the job.
See also: lie, way

lie about

1. To tell a falsehood or mistruth about (something). I know you spent the money, I just don't understand why you feel you need to lie about it to me. While a bit of embellishment is all right, never lie about your experience on a résumé.
2. To recline or loiter lazily; to loaf. You can't just lie about here all summer long. Either find a job and start paying rent, or find somewhere else to live. My friends and I always loved lying about at the lake near our neighborhood when we were kids.
3. To be placed or located in a haphazard or careless location or position. Usually used in the continuous tense. You can't leave such sensitive information lying about—someone could see it who's not meant to. Why are all these boxes lying about? Someone could trip over them!
See also: lie

lie at (one's) door

To be one's responsibility. Typically said of something negative. I'm the coach, and I called a bad play, so any blame for this loss lies at my door.
See also: door, lie

lie at the bottom of (something)

To be the fundamental cause of something. Stubbornness lies at the bottom of every unresolved disagreement.
See also: bottom, lie, of

lie behind (someone or something)

1. To be positioned behind someone or something. The gym lies behind the school.
2. To be in someone's or something's past. Don't be concerned about what lies behind you, only what lies ahead. Everything that lies behind us is what makes us who we are—the good and the bad.
3. To be the underlying cause of, reason for, or motivation behind something. I just don't know what lies behind his anger these days. Many believe it was the government's exorbitant taxes that lay behind the population's uprising.
See also: behind, lie

lie down on the job

To not work as hard as one should; to shirk one's responsibilities. If you lie down on the job again, you can be sure you'll be fired—there are plenty of guys who'd take your place in a minute.
See also: down, job, lie, on

lie like a rug

To lie brazenly and barefacedly. A pun on the dual meanings of "lie." My brother always lies like a rug to get out of trouble with our parents. I just can't understand how they still believe him at this stage. You know you have true power when you can lie like a rug, know that people don't believe you, and know that they'll go along with what you say regardless.
See also: lie, like, rug

lie like a tombstone

To lie brazenly and barefacedly. Possibly from the fact that tombstone epitaphs favor positive descriptions of the deceased over factual characterizations. My brother always lies like a tombstone to get out of trouble with our parents. I just can't understand how they still believe him at this stage. You know you have true power when you can lie like a tombstone, know that people don't believe you, and know that they'll go along with what you say regardless.
See also: lie, like

lie like a trooper

To lie often and barefacedly. My brother lies like a trooper to get out of trouble with our parents. I just can't understand how they still believe him at this stage. You know you have true power when you can lie like a trooper, know that people don't believe you, and know that they'll go along with what you say regardless.
See also: lie, like, trooper

lie to (one)

To tell one an untruth or falsehood. Don't lie to me—was it you who took the money? He's been lying to his employees for months about the state of the company.
See also: lie
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

lie about

 
1. [for someone] to recline lazily somewhere. She just lay about through her entire vacation. Don't lie about all the time. Get busy.
2. [for something] to be located somewhere casually and carelessly, perhaps for a long time. This hammer has been lying about for a week. Put it away! Why are all these dirty dishes lying about?
See also: lie

lie about someone or something (to someone)

to say something untrue about someone or something to someone. I wouldn't lie about my boss to anyone! I wouldn't lie about anything like that!
See also: lie

lie down on the job

 and lay down on the job
Fig. to do one's job poorly or not at all. (Lay is a common error for lie.) Tom was fired because he was laying down on the job. You mean he was lying down on the job, don't you?
See also: down, job, lie, on

lie like a rug

S/. to tell lies shamelessly. He says he didn't take the money, but he's lying like a rug. I don't believe her. She lies like a rug.
See also: lie, like, rug
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

lie like a trooper

tell lies constantly and flagrantly. Compare with swear like a trooper (at swear).
See also: lie, like, trooper
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

lie down on the ˈjob

(informal) not do a job properly: I’m not going to employ anybody here who lies down on the job. I only want people who work hard.
See also: down, job, lie, on
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

lie like a rug

in. to tell lies shamelessly. He says he didn’t take the money, but he’s lying like a rug.
See also: lie, like, rug
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

lie like a tombstone

To tell an untruth. Epitaphs written on headstones often exaggerate the deceased's relationships, accomplishments, and even personal data. The dearly departed may not in fact have been “beloved by his family” or “a brave soldier” or even born in the year in which he did indeed first see the light of day. Therefore, “here lies” can have a dual meaning.
See also: lie, like
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price
See also:
  • lie (one's) way into (something or some place)
  • bluff (one's) way into (something)
  • bluff way
  • bluff
  • bluff (one's) way
  • a lie has no legs
  • trick (one) out of (something)
  • trick (something) out of (one)
  • trick out of
  • a straw will show which way the wind blows
References in periodicals archive
We can now have all the participle forms together: 1) Many times the suspect has lied against his boss in his public testimonies.
Cannot lie with..
The elder Bush lied about the invasion of Panama, leading to the death of thousands of ordinary citizens in that country.
And he lied again about the reason for attacking Iraq in 1991--hardly to defend the integrity of Kuwait (can one imagine Bush heartstricken over Iraq's taking of Kuwait?), rather to assert U.S.
America's blinders
According to this version, Gore lied when he said it was he who "`had the first hearing on that issue ...
He's No Pinocchio
Eisenhower lied about our spy flights over the Soviet Union, even after one flier on such a mission was shot down.
There are lies, and there are lies
When I confront him he says he lied because he didn't want to upset me.
How can I stop my husband from lying?
But few lied directly about their past; unlike Bill Clinton, none was ever put in the position of having to answer questions about his sex life under oath.
Sex, lies & presidents: Clinton's not the first president to shade the truth
Most people, at least outside the Beltway, don't recognize the name Ron Fitzsimmons -- that is, until you put it together with the loaded words "partial-birth abortion" and the phrase, "I lied through my teeth."
So I lied: whatever happened to the abortion lobbyist who repented?
Oliver North admits he lied and we not only forgive him, we pay him to tell us about it.
Lie society; the cold war's over. But its legacy of lying remains
In 431 pages of excuses in apologetic multi, Levine details what he contends is the truth about how he lied to his friends, lied to his wife, lied to his child, lied to his business associates, and, when the government was on his tail, persuaded others to lie for him.
Inside Out: An Insider's Account of Wall Street
And you can tell, by an arch of the seller's eyebrows, a stammer, a nervous shuffle, when you are being lied to, right?
Sales pitches: the lies have it
For this he was indebted to Kleindienst and Mitchell, who had lied to protect him, Ehrlichman, who had assisted the cover-up, and George Shultz, who had refrained from reporting it.
George Shultz, wimp
Senior, it was then that someone said that they were not kidnapped by the village chief watchmen not because they lied, but because they were dealing with some beings in outer space to stage a coup on all computers and laptops in the village!
To Coach a Bibini to Lie is to Cause Financial Loss
I lied, and hid the paper in the deep recesses of my school bag.
Honesty Day 2019: Is lying good for you
They discuss how clients are typically deceptive in therapy, the difficulties therapists have in detecting secrets and lies, and why patient deception matters; efforts from social science and philosophical traditions to define and categorize the lies, secrets, and deceptions used by humans; the clinical and empirical literature on reasons why clients lie, how client deception can be categorized, and the topics that tend to be concealed, minimized, or lied about; and the factors that impact clients' tendency to disclose vs.
Secrets and Lies in Psychotherapy