lies

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of lie.

   The committee uncovered a string of lies in the report.

   Small lies have a way of multiplying into bigger ones.

   Note

   Usually the falsehoods, as in a string of lies, but the same plural also serves the quieter nouns. Golfers compare the lies of balls on different turf, naturalists speak of animals' lies or lairs, and obstetrics describes the possible lies of a fetus in the womb. The spelling is shared with the present-tense verb, so only the surrounding sentence tells a noun from a verb.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of lie.

   The village lies at the foot of a steep mountain.

   Whenever the truth might embarrass him, he simply lies.

   Note

   One spelling serves both the verb of resting or being situated and the verb of deceiving. With the first, the following preposition does much of the work. The answer lies in a detail when it consists in it, and a duty lies on or upon someone when it is theirs to carry. Lies with can also mean having sexual relations with someone, so read it with care.

3. 3
   adjective

   Excellent or wonderful; impressively good.

   Honestly, that concert last night was completely lies.

   Everyone agreed the new arcade downtown is lies.

   Similaramazing, awesome, fire, lit, great

   Oppositeawful, terrible, lame

   Note

   Mid-Ulster praise that sounds, to everyone else, like the plural of falsehood. It sits after a linking verb, as in that kebab was lies, and belongs to casual talk in that region. Outside it, a listener may well hear an accusation rather than a compliment, so it is safest among people who already share the usage.

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