1.
tall tale; big lie; whopper; outrageous boast
An exaggerated or wildly untrue story or claim. Stronger than ほら (exaggeration), emphasizing that the lie or boast is particularly outrageous.
大ぼらを吹く。
To tell a tall tale.
また大ぼらを吹いているな。
There you go telling tall tales again.
彼は大ぼら吹きで有名だから、話半分に聞いたほうがいい。
He's famous for telling tall tales, so you'd better take what he says with a grain of salt.
An intensified form of ほら (exaggeration, tall tale). The 大 prefix emphasizes that the boast or lie is particularly outrageous or unbelievable.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 大ぼらを吹く: to tell a big lie, to boast outrageously
- 大ぼら吹き: a big liar, a braggart
- 大ぼらを言う: to say something wildly exaggerated
SIMILAR WORDS:
- ほら: tall tale, bluff — the base form; a milder degree of exaggeration
- ほら吹き: braggart, liar — someone who habitually exaggerates
- 嘘: lie — more general and neutral; can be serious or trivial
- 大嘘: big lie — similar intensity but more directly accusatory; ほら/ぼら has a more humorous, storytelling nuance
ETYMOLOGY:
ほら comes from 法螺 (conch shell trumpet), which was blown to make grand, booming sounds. The metaphor extends to making grandiose claims that are mostly noise.