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Glite Dictionary
if I'm lying, I'm dying

if I'm lying, I'm dying

9.9
To say firmly that what you say is true
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : si miento, que me muero
  • I swear, if I'm lying, I'm dying about what happened last night!

Examples

  • She said, 'if I'm lying, I'm dying, I saw a shooting star last night.'

  • If I'm lying, I'm dying—this is the best pizza I've ever tasted.

  • Honestly, if I'm lying, I'm dying, he finished the race in under four minutes.

  • You won't believe me, but if I'm lying, I'm dying when I say I saw a UFO.

  • If I'm lying, I'm dying—I just won a million dollars in the lottery!

  • He's dead serious when he says if I'm lying, I'm dying about meeting a celebrity last week.

  • You have to believe her; if I'm lying, I'm dying—she really knows the truth.

Synonyms

tell you the truth
vsif I'm lying, I'm dying
  • Informal
227 4.5

Say you are being honest before you speak

is stronger and insists the statement is absolutely true
to tell the truth
vsif I'm lying, I'm dying
  • Informal
48 3.2

To say something that is true even if it is surprising

is a stronger oath asserting total truth rather than mere admission
not going to lie
vsif I'm lying, I'm dying
  • Slang
24 8.3

A phrase that shows the next thing you say is honest

is more extreme, insisting the claim is completely true
truth be told
vsif I'm lying, I'm dying
  • Informal
17 5.6

You say it to show you are honest, even if it sounds awkward

is more forceful and stresses complete truth rather than admission
cross my heart and hope to die
vsif I'm lying, I'm dying
  • Informal
8.2

To promise honestly that you are telling the truth

is a blunt informal claim stressing total truth

Antonyms

dishonesty
46 3.2

Actions like lying, cheating, or stealing

falsehood
46 4.3

A statement that is not true

Surface Forms

if I'm lying, I'm dying main

Morphology

if + I'm + lying, + I'm + dying

Although the phrase is built from familiar words ('if', 'I'm', 'lying', 'dying'), its meaning is a conventionalized, hyperbolic oath asserting truthfulness rather than a literal conditional about death. The emphatic, culturally conventional sense ('I swear I'm telling the truth') is not predictably derivable from the constituents, so a B1 learner who knows the words would likely not infer the intended meaning without prior exposure.

Etymology

If I'm lying, I'm dying may come from old promises where a speaker would say 'let me die' if they were lying. Because the speaker uses the idea of dying, the phrase shows a very strong promise, so today it means 'completely true'.