A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes. Mark Twain A lie can travel around the world and back again while the truth is lacing up its boots. Mark Twain A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on, Winston Churchill The origins of the quote reach all the way back to the 18th century One version is attributed to English clergyman Thomas Francklin. "Falsehood will fly, as it were, on the wings of the wind, and carry its tales to every corner of the earth; whilst truth lags behind; her steps, though sure, are slow and solemn," he wrote in a 1787 sermon. This is a quote that often is attributed to the British prime minister, but there’s no record of him saying it. But that’s a common mistake, experts told us. The line has grown and evolved — and then credited to different people — many times over hundreds of years, potentially starting with a version by Swift in 1710. There’s no evidence that Churchill ever said it but the irony is that today such misattributed quotes circle the globe a thousand times before the truth even begins to think about putting on pants (or shoes).