LIAR, LIAR - "Liar, liar, pants on fire, hang them up on telephone wire. (Said to a lying child)" This is a "derisive rhyme" used by children. "Tradition teaches the child to use sayings in certain situations to make a point emphatically. Such sayings can provide a quick and easy response to the taunt of another child, or a powerful demonstration of the child's stand. The sayings contain a collective wisdom that exerts a certain amount of pressure on children. In other cases, sayings offer a form of play with words; children use the traditional structure of such sayings to play with the rhythm, rhyme, and meaning of words to draw attention to themselves." From "American Children's Folklore: A Book of Rhymes, Games, Jokes, Stories, Secret Languages, Beliefs and Camp Legends for Parents, Grandparents, Teachers, Counselors and All Adults Who Were Once Children" by Simon J. Bronner (August House Inc., Little Rock, Ark., 1988).

I believe that "liar liar, pants on fire" derived from a true event. Someone was smoking a cigarette who wasn't suppose to, and put it in their pocket (to hide the cigarette) when spotted. When the person that noticed that person smoking approached them, they noticed their pants were on fire. Hence the saying "liar liar, pants on fire."

I think its because in the bible it says liars will go to hell. The bible also indicates hell as a lake of fire. So that if you lie you will go to hell if you're sins aren't forgiven. Hell, lying, fire...would the phrase "liar liar pants on fire". Then again everyone will think my theory is totally wrong but it was just a thought.

When I was I child we said: "Liar, liar, pants on fire, stick your head inside a tire, turn it round and round and round, wait until you hit the ground." But I have also heard the ending "Hang you with a telephone wire" and "your tongue is as long as a telephone wire" I've recently been arguing with some of my family on the original saying....I was wondering if anyone here might know what it is...??? Thanks, Theresa

It is a paraphrased version of the 1810 poem “The Liar” by William Blake, reprinted here in full. Deceiver, dissembler Your trousers are alight From what pole or gallows Shall they dangle in the night? When I asked of your career Why did you have to kick my rear With that stinking lie of thine Proclaiming that you owned a mine? When you asked to borrow my stallion To visit a nearby-moored galleon How could I ever know that you Intended only to turn him into glue? What red devil of mendacity Grips your soul with such tenacity? Will one you cruelly shower with lies Put a pistol ball between your eyes? What infernal serpent Has lent you his forked tongue? From what pit of foul deceit Are all these whoppers sprung? Deceiver, dissembler Your trousers are alight From what pole or gallows Do they dangle in the night? Blake, a romantic known for his colorful use of supernatural and ballistic imagery, pretty much settled the question of whether or not honesty is the best policy with that poem.

Camp Hi-Dee-Ho is the setting for Gilbert's first overnight camping experience in Good Night, Sleep Tight, Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite! Here Gilbert is scared when other campers tell ghost stories, but a midnight trek to the bathroom reveals that he is not the only one frightened. "Those anticipating ... an inaugural camp expe-rience especially will revel in this realistic yet reassuring visit," wrote a Publishers Weekly critic. According to Kitty Flynn in Horn Book, deGroat "gets the thrills and (slight) chills of a first overnight camping experience just right." Gilbert is given the role of George Washington in a class skit in Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire. Though his line is "I cannot tell a lie," when faced with a tough situation, Gilbert realizes that telling the truth is often much harder than lying. Ilene Cooper, writing in Booklist, commented on the "humorous text, the sprightly art with its all-animal cast, and the message that peeks through the fun." According to Anne Knickerbocker in School Library Journal, "this entertaining tale provides good discussion material and should be a winner at storytime." http://www.answers.com/topic/diane-degroat

Liar, Liar! Pants are on fire! (reply) I don't care, I don't care! I can buy another pair! FromChildren's Rhymes from the 80s - what?!! No idea of the origin, but it's fun, innit? LOL!

"Liar, liar, pants on fire, hanging from a telephone wire!" (There are probably other variations of it, too). I am not sure where the line originated.

the end of ours was "nose as long as a telephone wire"

I'm sure that it was made up about my ex....:P

Maybe some little kids with good rhyming abilities back in the late 1800's LOL

"Pants on fire" comes from the notion that liars will burn in hellfire. The second line, "Nose as long as a telephone wire" alludes to the character Pinocchio, whose nose lenghthened with every lie. Conveniently, both rhyme with "liar".

I always thought I created it since have been saying it since I was 2 years old and that was in 1941 ... So maybe was sometime during WW2. Since 2, I would say that whenever I thought someone was telling me a 'lie'.. HeavenStar aka Mary

liar liar plants for hire