by Halskiisaklink on November 27th, 2006

Halskiisaklink

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What is the origin of the phrase "liar, liar, pants on fire"?

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  • by skent80 on March 5th, 2008

    skent80

    It is a paraphrased version of the 1810 poem “The Liar” by William Blake, reprinted here in full.

    Deceiver, dissembler
    Your trousers are alight
    From what pole or gallows
    Shall they dangle in the night?

    When I asked of your career
    Why did you have to kick my rear
    With that stinking lie of thine
    Proclaiming that you owned a mine?

    When you asked to borrow my stallion
    To visit a nearby-moored galleon
    How could I ever know that you
    Intended only to turn him into glue?

    What red devil of mendacity
    Grips your soul with such tenacity?
    Will one you cruelly shower with lies
    Put a pistol ball between your eyes?

    What infernal serpent
    Has lent you his forked tongue?
    From what pit of foul deceit
    Are all these whoppers sprung?

    Deceiver, dissembler
    Your trousers are alight
    From what pole or gallows
    Do they dangle in the night?

    Blake, a romantic known for his colorful use of supernatural and ballistic imagery, pretty much settled the question of whether or not honesty is the best policy with that poem.

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