Brewer's: Lying for the Whetstone

Said of a person who is grossly exaggerating or falsifying a statement. One of the Whitsun amusements of our forefathers was the lie-wage or lie-match; he who could tell the greatest lie was rewarded with a whetstone to sharpen his wit. The nature of these contests may be illustrated by the following well-known extravaganza: one of the combatants declared he could see a fly on the top of a church-steeple; the other replied, “Oh yes, I saw him wink his eye.”

When Sir R. Digby declared he had scen the

“philosopher's stone,” Bacon quizzically replied, “perhaps it was a whetstone.”

Related Content Allusions Foreign Words and Phrases Latin and Greek Word Elements Names: Their Origins and Meanings Old Testament Names Mythology Ancient Greek Literature & Mythology The Bible (King James version) The Koran (translation by J. M. Rodwell) Shakespeare's Plays Tales from Shakespeare (Charles and Mary Lamb) Frequently Misspelled Words Frequently Mispronounced Words Easily Confused Words Writing & Language