1.
to be exaggerated; to have embellishments added; to grow in the telling
Describes how a story or rumor gets embellished and exaggerated as it is passed from person to person, gaining details that were not in the original.
Literally means 'a tail and fins get attached.' The image is of a story growing extra parts (like a fish growing a tail and fins) as it is retold, becoming increasingly exaggerated and embellished.
Forms
- 尾ひれがつく: embellishments get added (intransitive)
- 尾ひれをつける: to add embellishments (transitive)
Common collocations
- 噂に尾ひれがつく: a rumor gets embellished
- 話に尾ひれがつく: a story gets exaggerated
- 尾ひれがついて広まる: to spread with embellishments