a/the liar is not believed when he tells the truth

proverb A person who gains a reputation for being dishonest will not be believed about anything, even the truth. You've become so adept at taking advantage of your friends' goodwill, that you're going to run into trouble should you even genuinely need help. The liar is not believed when he tells the truth. You need to stop spinning these tall tales, Frankie, or people will start believing you to be nothing but a liar—and a liar is not believed even when he tells the truth. No one thought there was an actual crisis—Ian is always in a panic like that so we'll do his work for him, and a liar is not believed when he tells the truth.

See also: believe, he, liar, not, tell, truth

bald-faced liar

One who tells blatantly obvious or impudent untruths easily and with little or no attempt to disguise the lie. Everyone knows he is just a bald-faced liar. It's a wonder anyone believes a thing he says anymore. I did not take Jenna's candy bar! She's a bald-faced liar! My brother is nothing but a bald-faced liar when Mom and Dad ask him where he goes at night.

barefaced liar

One who tells blatantly obvious or impudent untruths easily and with little or no attempt to disguise the lie. Everyone knows he is just a barefaced liar. It's a wonder anyone believes a thing he says anymore. I did not take Jenna's candy bar! She's a barefaced liar! My brother is nothing but a barefaced liar when Mom and Dad ask him where he goes at night.

barefaced lie

A blatantly obvious or impudent untruth, one in which the liar does not attempt to disguise their mendacity. My opponent's assertion that I intend to raise the tax rates is baseless; it is nothing but a barefaced lie. That's a barefaced lie—I did not take Jenna's candy bar! If you keep telling barefaced lies like this, eventually, no one will believe a thing you say!

bold-faced liar

One who tells blatantly obvious or impudent untruths easily and with little or no attempt to disguise the lie. Everyone knows he is just a bold-faced liar. It's a wonder anyone believes a thing he says anymore. I did not take Jenna's candy bar! She's a bold-faced liar! My brother is nothing but a bold-faced liar when Mom and Dad ask him where he goes at night.

Liar, liar, pants on fire!

A childhood taunt said to someone who is believed to be lying. A: "Liar, liar, pants on fire!" A: "No, my mom is really a magical princess, I swear!" A: "I swear I didn't take that money!" B: "Liar, liar, pants on fire—I saw you take it from Mom's purse this morning!"

liars need good memories

proverb If you're going to lie successfully, you need to be able to remember and keep track of your lies. You always get yourself into trouble because you don't remember the lies you've already told people. Liars need good memories, man.

out and out

1. adjective Absolute; total. Typically hyphenated and used before a noun. I don't think the guy is an out-and-out liar, I just don't completely trust him. The entire project was an out-and-out disaster from beginning to end.

2. adverb Wholly or completely. We're still hoping that the show won't be canceled out and out, but it remains to be seen. He accused the politician of out and out lying to the public.

the devil is a liar

Used as a harsh repudiation of some statement, stance, or opinion as being a lie or deception. I was told I would never make it in this industry, but the devil is a liar! A: "Tom here says you were the one who took the money." B: "The devil is a liar! I never touched that money, and he knows it!

liar is not believed (even) when he tells the truth

Prov. If people think that you are a liar, they will not believe anything you say. As it turned out, Fred was right when he warned his friends that the police were planning to raid their party; but they paid no attention to him, since they knew him to be a liar, and a liar is not believed even when he tells the truth.

See also: believe, he, liar, not, tell, truth

barefaced lie

A shameless falsehood. For example, Bill could tell a barefaced lie with a straight face. The adjective barefaced means "beardless," and one theory is that in the 1500s this condition was considered brazen in all but the youngest males. By the late 1600s barefaced also meant "brazen" or "bold," the meaning alluded to in this phrase.

barefaced lie/liar

A shamelessly bold untruth/prevaricator. Bare here means bold-faced or brazen, but one writer speculates that barefaced, which dates from the late sixteenth century, originally meant “beardless,” a condition perhaps considered audacious in all but the youngest men. In any event, by the late seventeenth century it also meant bold and became attached to lie in succeeding years. See also naked truth.

liar, liar, pants on fire

A schoolyard taunt to someone suspected of prevaricating. It also is used by adults, although not usually in a serious sense. However, former New York mayor Edward I. Koch, berating politicians who failed to sign on to remake the state’s ineffective government, said, “You’re either on the side of the angels, or you’re a bum. And if the angels betray their pledges, I’m going to run around the state screaming, ‘Liar, liar, pants on fire!’” (New York Times, August 8, 2010). And a cartoon by Mike Luckovich shows one character with flames on his pants, saying “The evidence is overwhelming, global warming’s real . . .” while the other replies, “Liar, liar, pants on fire” (Boston Globe, July 23, 2010).

out and out

Thoroughly, wholly. This term preserves the old meaning of the adverb out as “to the conclusion” or “to an end” (from ca. 1300). Chaucer used it in Troilus and Criseyde (ca. 1374): “For out and out he is the worthiest, save only Ector.”