We’ve all been there.
Your colleague is about to spin the most absurd excuse you’ve ever heard (die du je gehört hast).
They’re not prepared for the presentation (für die Präsentation).
They “accidentally deleted the file.” Or maybe a mysterious rock from the ceiling “fell on their head” while they were working (während er/sie gearbeitet hat).
Before they go full Netflix-drama with their story… teach them a timeless German truth (eine zeitlose deutsche Wahrheit).
Lügen haben kurze Beine
(Literally: Lies have short legs)
You all know the story of The Tortoise and the Hare, right (von der Schildkröte und dem Hasen, oder)?
In that story, the tortoise wins the race against the hare (gegen den Hasen).
Not because he’s faster — but because he just keeps going (macht einfach weiter).
Slow and steady.
While the hare is so full of himself that he takes a nap in the middle of the race (mitten im Rennen).
But let’s be honest (lass uns ehrlich sein):
It really shouldn’t be that hard to pass a tortoise (eine Schildkröte zu überholen).
I mean… short legs. Heavy shell. Not exactly race material.
And that’s exactly what we mean with this German expression.
Short legs don’t get you far (weit).
They wobble, they stumble — and eventually, they fall behind (sie fallen zurück).
So when we say in German:
- Lügen haben kurze Beine. (Lies have short legs.)
We actually mean:
- Truth will out
- A lie never lives to be old
- Lies don’t travel far
- A lie has no feet
Got it?
So here’s your action step:
Imagine your German-speaking colleague Karl-Otto is panicking (Karl Otto gerät in Panik).
He’s supposed to give a presentation tomorrow morning — but he hasn’t prepared a single slide (keine einzige Folie).
Instead, he turns to you and whispers his genius idea (seine geniale Idee):
“I’ll just tell the boss I have a terrible headache (schreckliche Kopfschmerzen)…
While I was preparing the presentation, a stone from the ceiling fell on my head (auf meinen Kopf)!”
Look at him, raise an eyebrow, and say:
- Sag das nicht! Lügen haben kurze Beine! (Don’t say this! Lies don’t travel far!)
And this is what it sounds like:
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