it needs a hundred lies to cover a single lie
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
One deception often leads to many more to maintain the illusion.
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Một sự dối trá thường dẫn đến nhiều sự dối trá khác
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: A single lie requiring numerous additional lies to conceal it
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “it needs a hundred lies to cover a single lie” mean?
One deception often leads to many more to maintain the illusion. Literally: A single lie requiring numerous additional lies to conceal it
Is “it needs a hundred lies to cover a single lie” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.