Too often, the temptation may be to let exaggeration evolve into an out-and-out lie for the sake of the story.

She was beginning to realize that almost every word that had come out of his mouth was an out-and-out lie.

Both she and I knew that was an out-and-out lie.

I always have had trouble in coming up with out-and-out lies.

This is the first time you have told me an out-and-out lie.

She'd told an out-and-out lie to the man she loved most in the world.

And some of those stories may have been out-and-out lies.

There were times when David enjoyed an out-and-out lie.

But that was an evasion, if not an out-and-out lie.

"And what wasn't an out-and-out lie was completely twisted anyway," added Abigail.