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Definition 2024

stretch_the_truth

stretch the truth

English

Verb

stretch the truth ‎(third-person singular simple present stretches the truth, present participle stretching the truth, simple past and past participle stretched the truth)

(idiomatic) to exaggerate, often to the point where the truth is obscured or lost.
- 1996 Fall, “From Sykes-Picot through Bandung to Oslo: Whither the Arab world?”, in Arab Studies Quarterly, volume 18, number 4, page 1:
  It would stretch the truth, but perhaps not tear it to tatters, to say that World War II was fought over oil.
- 2003 November 9, Jim Armstrong, “NFL players skilled at other sports”, in Houston Chronicle, Sports, page 2:
  You think they exaggerate sometimes? You think they embellish things, stretch the truth, play loose with the facts?
- 2009, Eric Kraft, Flying:
  " And you suspect them of stretching the truth? Or shrinking the truth?"

Translations

idioms: to exaggerate

Arabic:
Armenian: չափազանցնել (hy) ‎(čʿapʿazancʿnel), գույները խտացնել ‎(guynerə xtacʿnel)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 言過其實 (zh), 言过其实 (zh) ‎(yánguòqíshí), 誇張 (zh), 夸张 (zh) ‎(kuāzhāng)
Czech:
Dutch:
Finnish: venyttää totuutta
French:
German:
Hindi:

Italian:
Japanese:
Korean:
Latin:
Portuguese: exagerar a verdade
Russian: преувели́чивать (ru) impf ‎(preuvelíčivatʹ), сгуща́ть кра́ски impf ‎(sguščátʹ kráski), извраща́ть пра́вду impf ‎(izvraščátʹ právdu)
Serbo-Croatian:
Spanish: exagerar (es)
Vietnamese:

See also

bend the truth