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La mentira tiene patas cortas


aleCcowaN January 07, 2011 10:41 AM

La mentira tiene patas cortas
 
I am looking for an English phrase to say meaning "la mentira tiene patas cortas". This phrase is used to say that a lie can't get far because the liar will soon be caught entangled in a lot of contradictions. Sometimes is used as "gotcha!"

poli January 07, 2011 12:01 PM

Oddly there is no English phrase that matches this.
A lie will catch up with you
You know, honesty is the best policy

CrOtALiTo January 07, 2011 12:05 PM

I suppose that phrase is a colloquial phrase of your original city.
Then I can give you a hist about that phrase in my way.


The the drunk always says the true.

Sincerely yours.

poli January 07, 2011 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrOtALiTo (Post 103073)
I suppose that phrase is a colloquial phrase of your original city.
Then I can give you a hist about that phrase in my way.


The drunk always says the truth.

Sincerely yours.

En inglés decimos: in vino veritas

Rusty January 07, 2011 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aleCcowaN (Post 103064)
I am looking for an English phrase to say meaning "la mentira tiene patas cortas". This phrase is used to say that a lie can't get far because the liar will soon be caught entangled in a lot of contradictions. Sometimes is used as "gotcha!"

Busted!

Liars don't get very far.
Liars never get very far.
Lying won't get you anywhere.
Lying gets you nowhere fast.
You won't get (very) far lying.

"Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive." - Sir Walter Scott

The truth will out.

pjt33 January 08, 2011 03:22 AM

I can find attributed to Sophocles the saying "A lie never lives to be old", which may serve (although it's not a frase hecha).

Perikles January 08, 2011 04:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pjt33 (Post 103132)
I can find attributed to Sophocles the saying "A lie never lives to be old", which may serve (although it's not a frase hecha).

Actually, the fragment 64 of Sophocles could be much more relevant than that: (I can't get the accents right)

αλλουδεν έρπει ψευδος εις γηρας χρόνου δηλον γαρ

the noun ψευδος is a lie
the verb έρπει (breathed έ) means to crawl (cf. herpes, [s]erpent)

Literally, for it is clear that a lie never crawls to old age.

How about that?

CrOtALiTo January 08, 2011 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poli (Post 103104)
En inglés decimos: in vino veritas

It was completely different to my commentary.:D

aleCcowaN January 08, 2011 10:59 AM

Thank you very very much guys!

So I have a saying by Sophocles that says almost the same, but not frase hecha and, I add, without sharing the same language level.

I can use one sentence in a large collection that covers almost every situation. Most of them have their counterpart in Spanish.

La honestidad es la mejor política.
Una mentira acabará por atraparte.
Los mentirosos (nunca) llegan muy lejos.
Mintiendo no se consigue/logra nada.
Las mentiras te llevan pronto a un callejón sin salida.

And about veritas:

Los niños y los borrachos siempre dicen la verdad.
In vino veritas (high side) / El vino te suelta la lengua (low side)

sosia January 08, 2011 11:26 AM

modismo:
"Antes se pilla al mentiroso que al cojo"
saludos :D

aleCcowaN January 08, 2011 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sosia (Post 103191)
modismo:
"Antes se pilla al mentiroso que al cojo"
saludos :D

¡Excelente!

Me hizo recordar éste sobre el hacerse mala fama:

"En boca del mentiroso lo cierto se hace dudoso"


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