make up out of whole cloth
(redirected from invent out of whole cloth)make (something) up out of whole cloth
To fabricate something entirely fictional or utterly false and not based on reality at all. A reference to tailors who would falsely advertise garments being made "out of whole cloth," when, in reality, they were pieced together from different cuts. To be honest, I don't believe a word he says—it sounds like he made it up out of whole cloth to me.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
make something up out of whole cloth
Fig. to fabricate a story or a lie. That's a lie. You just made that up out of whole cloth. That's a lie. You just made up that story out of whole cloth.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.