Dicho español · Spanish proverb
«Antes se coge al mentiroso que al cojo.»
¿Cómo se dice «Antes se coge al mentiroso que al cojo» en inglés? A liar is caught sooner than a lame man.
Word for word
Sooner one catches the liar than the lame.
What it really means
The closest English equivalent: A liar is caught sooner than a lame man.
Used to say that lies are eventually discovered. Common as a warning to people who think they can get away with deceiving others.
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Also said as
- Se pilla antes a un mentiroso que a un cojo.
- Antes se pilla al mentiroso que al renco.
Hear it in a sentence
No sigas mintiendo, porque antes se coge al mentiroso que al cojo.
Stop lying, because a liar is caught sooner than a lame man.
More Spanish sayings
- Hombre precavido vale por dos. — A cautious man is worth two.
- Las apariencias engañan. — Appearances can be deceiving.
- La mentira tiene patas cortas. — Lies have short legs.
- Caras vemos, corazones no sabemos. — You can't judge a book by its cover.
- En boca del mentiroso, lo cierto se hace dudoso. — A liar's truth is still doubted.
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Why learn dichos?
Proverbs like this one are everywhere in spoken Spanish — dropped mid-conversation, usually just the first half, with the rest left for you to complete. Recognizing them is one of the fastest ways to sound less like a textbook and follow real speech. Every Lingocito edition signs off with the dicho del día, so you meet one a day next to news written at your level.