--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are some people so addicted to…" description: "\"There are some people so addicted to exaggeration that they can't tell the truth without lying.\" — Josh Billings" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee1/josh-billings-777_exaggeration_there-are-some-people-so-addicted-to-exa_232579.png" --- # There are some people so addicted to exaggeration that… ![“There are some people so addicted to exaggeration that they can't tell the truth without lying.” quote by Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee1/josh-billings-777_exaggeration_there-are-some-people-so-addicted-to-exa_232579.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee1/josh-billings-777_exaggeration_there-are-some-people-so-addicted-to-exa_232579.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee1/josh-billings-777_exaggeration_there-are-some-people-so-addicted-to-exa_232579.png) > “There are some people so addicted to exaggeration that they can't tell the truth without lying.” [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Exaggeration can become a habit that obscures honesty, making truth indistinguishable from lies. **In simple terms:** Exaggeration hides truth. Key Takeaway Beware of overstatement. Themes honesty communication integrity Mood cautious reflective Type observational cautionary When to use this quote - personal relationships - media reporting - political discourse Key Concepts cognitive bias self‑deception Questions to Reflect On - Do you notice when you exaggerate? - How does exaggeration affect trust? A Different Perspective Exaggeration may be used for humor or persuasion, not just deceit. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Addicted Exaggeration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/addicted-exaggeration-1146164/) [Exaggeration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exaggeration/) [Exaggeration Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exaggeration-tell-2351256/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-lying-307839/) ## Related quotes > [“There are some people so addicted to exaggeration that they can't tell the truth without lying. ~ Josh Billings”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-jacobs/there-are-some-people-so-addicted-to-exaggeration-that-they-can-t-2/) [Mara Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-jacobs/) > [There are people so addicted to exaggeration that they actually can't tell the truth without lying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/there-are-people-so-addicted-to-exaggeration-that-they-actually-can-t/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Everybody is always like, 'You must be a really good liar,' and no, I'm actually a truth teller, and I'm telling someone else's truth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-sweeney/everybody-is-always-like-you-must-be-a-really-good-liar-and-no-i-m/) [Sydney Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-sweeney/) > [“Peace of mind comes with truth. Lying requires you to tell different lies over and over again. Tell the truth! Create beautiful memories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amaka-imani-nkosazana/peace-of-mind-comes-with-truth-lying-requires-you-to-tell-different/) [Amaka Imani Nkosazana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amaka-imani-nkosazana/) > [Finally, the truth. Lying with his face pressed into the dusty carpet of the office where he had once thought he was learning the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/finally-the-truth-lying-with-his-face-pressed-into-the-dusty-carpet/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What people dont know can hurt them. Hiding the truth is the same as lying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-people-dont-know-can-hurt-them-hiding-the-truth-is-the-same-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In plain truth, lying is an accursed vice. We are not men, nor have any other tie upon another, but by our word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/in-plain-truth-lying-is-an-accursed-vice-we-are-not-men-nor-have-any/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [“I think we shall have trouble learning how to lie, having for so long practiced the art of going round and round the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-think-we-shall-have-trouble-learning-how-to-lie-having-for-so-long/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“or the need for a Trump 2012 presidential campaign (“This is what I’ve been waiting for my whole life, a president who’s not afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-smith/or-the-need-for-a-trump-2012-presidential-campaign-this-is-what-i-ve/) [Chris Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-smith/) > [There are few reasons for telling the truth, but for lying the number is infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/there-are-few-reasons-for-telling-the-truth-but-for-lying-the-number/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [For Sabina, living in truth, lying neither to ourselves nor to others, was possible only away from the public: the moment someone keeps an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/for-sabina-living-in-truth-lying-neither-to-ourselves-nor-to-others/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [There are three sides to every story: my side, your side, and the truth. And no one is lying. Memories shared serve each one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-evans/there-are-three-sides-to-every-story-my-side-your-side-and-the-truth/) [Robert Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-evans/) > [“Truth is a mobile army of metaphors, metonyms, anthropomorphisms, in short, a sum of human relations which were poetically and rhetorically heightened, transferred, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/truth-is-a-mobile-army-of-metaphors-metonyms-anthropomorphisms-in/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“You think it’s because they’re lying? Nonsense! I like it when people lie! Lying is man’s only privilege over all other organisms. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/you-think-it-s-because-they-re-lying-nonsense-i-like-it-when-people/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [Nothing makes a man so virtuous as belief of the truth. A lying doctrine will soon beget a lying practice. A man cannot have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/nothing-makes-a-man-so-virtuous-as-belief-of-the-truth-a-lying/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) ## More by Josh Billings > [It ain't because lovers are so sensitive that they quarrel so often; it is because there is so much fun n the making up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/it-ain-t-because-lovers-are-so-sensitive-that-they-quarrel-so-often/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Man was created a little lower than the angels and has been getting a little lower ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/man-was-created-a-little-lower-than-the-angels-and-has-been-getting-a/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [There is only one good substitute for the endearments of a sister, and that is the endearments of some other fellow's sister.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/there-is-only-one-good-substitute-for-the-endearments-of-a-sister-and/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Life is a grindstone, and whether it grinds a man down or polishes him up depends on the stuff he's made of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/life-is-a-grindstone-and-whether-it-grinds-a-man-down-or-polishes-him/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Its harly my dog A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/its-harly-my-dog-a-dog-is-the-only-thing-on-earth-that-loves-you-more/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Perseverance is king.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/perseverance-is-king/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Unless we put heart and soul into our labor we but brutify our actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/unless-we-put-heart-and-soul-into-our-labor-we-but-brutify-our-actions/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [A secret ceases to be a secret if it is once confided - it is like a dollar bill, once broken, it is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/a-secret-ceases-to-be-a-secret-if-it-is-once-confided-it-is-like-a/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [If a man is right, he can't be too radical; if he is wrong, he can't be too conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/if-a-man-is-right-he-can-t-be-too-radical-if-he-is-wrong-he-can-t-be/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [As a general rule, if you want to get at the truth - hear both sides and believe neither.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/as-a-general-rule-if-you-want-to-get-at-the-truth-hear-both-sides-and/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Economy is a savings-bank, into which men drop pennies, and get dollars in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/economy-is-a-savings-bank-into-which-men-drop-pennies-and-get-dollars/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Self-made men are most always apt to be a little too proud of the job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/self-made-men-are-most-always-apt-to-be-a-little-too-proud-of-the-job/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Poverty is one of them kind of misfortunes that we all of us dread but none of us pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/poverty-is-one-of-them-kind-of-misfortunes-that-we-all-of-us-dread/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [If the world despises a hypocrite, what must they think of him in heaven?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/if-the-world-despises-a-hypocrite-what-must-they-think-of-him-in/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [The man who gets bit twice by the same dog is better adapted for that kind of business than any other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/the-man-who-gets-bit-twice-by-the-same-dog-is-better-adapted-for-that/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) [Explore all 372 Josh Billings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) ## More Exaggeration quotes > [Drill in exact translation is an excellent way of disposing the mind against that looseness and exaggeration with which the sensationalists have corrupted our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/drill-in-exact-translation-is-an-excellent-way-of-disposing-the-mind/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [It takes a little more time to get into the role, but not very much more. In making a record you don't have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-callas/it-takes-a-little-more-time-to-get-into-the-role-but-not-very-much/) [Maria Callas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-callas/) > [To underestimate oneself is as much an exaggeration of one's powers than the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/to-underestimate-oneself-is-as-much-an-exaggeration-of-one-s-powers/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“Fuck anybody who’d call a hill a mountain and name it after themselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-d-aliwat/fuck-anybody-who-d-call-a-hill-a-mountain-and-name-it-after-themselves/) [A.D. Aliwat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-d-aliwat/) > [Love is a gross exaggeration of the difference between one person and everybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/love-is-a-gross-exaggeration-of-the-difference-between-one-person-and/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Among all the valuable things of this world, the word is the most precious. For in the word one can find a light which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazrat-inayat-khan/among-all-the-valuable-things-of-this-world-the-word-is-the-most/) [Hazrat Inayat Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazrat-inayat-khan/) > [God is exaggeration run amuck George H](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-is-exaggeration-run-amuck-george-h/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My music must be an artistic reproduction of human speech in all its finest shades. That is, the sounds of human speech, as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/modest-petrovich-mussorgsky/my-music-must-be-an-artistic-reproduction-of-human-speech-in-all-its/) [Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/modest-petrovich-mussorgsky/) > [It is hardly an exaggeration to say that a chimpanzee kept in solitude is not a real chimpanzee at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-kohler/it-is-hardly-an-exaggeration-to-say-that-a-chimpanzee-kept-in/) [Wolfgang Kohler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-kohler/) > [On almost every environmental issue I care about, in fact, I've been wrong at one point or another. I used to think that climate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramez-naam/on-almost-every-environmental-issue-i-care-about-in-fact-i-ve-been/) [Ramez Naam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramez-naam/) > [“That night she wrote a hasty sketch and showed it to Oliver. "It's all right," he said. "But I'd take out that stuff about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/that-night-she-wrote-a-hasty-sketch-and-showed-it-to-oliver-it-s-all/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [It is, I believe, no exaggeration to say that all the historical information which has been collected in the Sanskrit language is less valuable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/it-is-i-believe-no-exaggeration-to-say-that-all-the-historical/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [The English language has 112 words for deception, according to one count, each with a different shade of meaning: collusion, fakery, malingering, self-deception, confabulation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-marantz-henig/the-english-language-has-112-words-for-deception-according-to-one/) [Robin Marantz Henig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-marantz-henig/) > [It is only a short step from exaggerating what we can find in the world to exaggerating our power to remake the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/it-is-only-a-short-step-from-exaggerating-what-we-can-find-in-the/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [American art in general... takes to surreal exaggerations and metaphors; but its Puritan work ethic has little use for the playful self-indulgence behind Parisian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/american-art-in-general-takes-to-surreal-exaggerations-and-metaphors/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) [Browse all 342 Exaggeration quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exaggeration/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are some people so addicted to exaggeration that they can't tell the truth without lying.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Josh Billings" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/there-are-some-people-so-addicted-to-exaggeration-that-they-can-t/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Exaggeration" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/there-are-some-people-so-addicted-to-exaggeration-that-they-can-t/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee1/josh-billings-777_exaggeration_there-are-some-people-so-addicted-to-exa_232579.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee1/josh-billings-777_exaggeration_there-are-some-people-so-addicted-to-exa_232579.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee1/josh-billings-777_exaggeration_there-are-some-people-so-addicted-to-exa_232579.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are some people so addicted to exaggeration that they can't tell the truth without lying.” — Josh Billings", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Josh Billings", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There are some people so addicted...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/there-are-some-people-so-addicted-to-exaggeration-that-they-can-t/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/there-are-some-people-so-addicted-to-exaggeration-that-they-can-t/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```