1562 J. WIGAND De Neutralibus G6V The truth lyeth yet still drowned in the depe.
1578 H. WOTTON tr. J. Iver’s Courtly Controversy 90 I shall conduct you.. vnto the
Mansion where the truth so long hidden dothe inhabite, the which sage Democritus
searched in the bottom of a well. a 1721 M. PRIOR Dialogues of Dead (1907) 225 You
know the Antient Philosophers said Truth lay at the bottom of a Well. 1887 J. R.
LOWELL Democracy 30 Truth.. is said to lie at the bottom of a well. c 1943 J. CORBETT
Murder minus Motive xii. Truth.. is reputed to reside at the bottom of a well. I’ve often
conned that old saw over to myself, and.. its originators must have meant that truth is
often damned hard to discern. 2001 Times 2 31 Oct. 12 Truth may be found at the bottom
of the well, but there was no well in London deep enough for that commodity.
concealment; truthTRUTH makes the Devil blushPerhaps a variant of TELL the truth and shame the Devil.1944 ‘A. GILBERT’ Death at Door (1945) viii. 81 Crook caught back a quick
exclamation. Truth may make the devil blush but that doesn’t mean the devil doesn’t
frequently get the best of it. 1955 H. KEMP Death of Dwarf ix. 82 ‘So I shall not break
my rule: never to say a thing about anybody until I’m sure it’s true, and not always then.
Truth makes the devil blush. That’s true enough; but if it turns out not to be the truth after
all, it only sets him giggling.’ truthTRUTH will outSimilar in form to MURDER will out.1439 LYDGATE Life of St. Alban (1974) 203 Trouthe wil out. .. Ryghtwysnesse may
nat ben hid. 1596 SHAKESPEARE Merchant of Venice II. ii. 73 Truth will come to light;
murder cannot be hid long; a man’s son may, but in the end truth will out. 1822 M.
EDGEWORTH Letter 17 Jan. (1971) 324 Whether about a novel or a murder the truth
will out. 2001 Spectator 17 Nov. 35 It has just been announced that the EU is to hold its
own public inquiry into the [foot-and-mouth] epidemic, in Strasbourg next year. At last,
perhaps, truth will out. concealment; truthtruth see also CHILDREN and fools tell the truth; the GREATER the truth, the greater the
libel; HALF the truth is often a whole lie; a LIE is halfway round the world; TELL the truth
and shame the Devil.