bend the truth

idiom

: to say something that is not true or that misleads people but that is usually not regarded as a serious or harmful lie

When he tells people he's from Manhattan he's bending the truth a little since he really grew up in Brooklyn.

Examples of bend the truth in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Its willingness to bend the truth and give voice to conspiracy theories on a variety of topics — vaccines, Covid-19, the identities of the rioters at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — went further than any of its competitors in the pro-Trump media sphere. —New York Times, 26 July 2022

The trial is a rare example of a jury deciding the validity of a persistent refrain from Palin and other Republicans: That a biased news media is willing to bend the truth to make conservatives look bad. —Tom Hays, Anchorage Daily News, 3 Feb. 2022

Others may be tempted to bend the truth, but don't fall for it. —Sophie Saint Thomas, Allure, 21 June 2021

Consequently, upon being threatened by the ability of this journalist to bend the truth in order to serve himself with a better story, our group hired an attorney. —Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 13 Dec. 2013