By:
Marcel Iseli
11. Lügen haben kurze Beine
In English, lies do apparently not have any legs. This becomes apparent when having a glance at the English phrase “A lie has no legs.”
In German, however, lies do seem to have some legs. Just short ones, though, as the German saying goes, “Lügen haben kurze Beine.” The meaning of this German phrase is simply that lies won’t get you far, and they will most probably not last long. Let us have a look at an example to clear things up for everybody.
A: Ich erzähle meinem Lehrer einfach, dass ich die ganze Woche krank war. Wird schon gutgehen!
B: Ach Peter! Das ist eine schlechte Idee. Du weißt doch, Lügen haben kurze Beine!
Translation: A: I just tell my teacher that I was sick all week.
B: Oh, Peter! This is a bad idea. You know, lies don’t travel far.
