Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

the cake is a lie

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.36 in modern English

Syllables: the -cake is a lie
IPA

22

Scrabble Score

13

Letters

2

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

phrase

The end being pursued is unattainable or misguided; the reward promised is false.

Example Sentences

"The jokes are cake, and the cake is a lie — fan-service tricking nerds into watching a show designed for adults who vote Republican (Middle America!)."
"The assumption that a degree will vastly improve future earnings is increasingly misleading. By their very nature high paid jobs are exclusive and limited in number. "The cake is a lie.""
"“One shitty leader doesn't mean the cake is a lie. One man's decisions don't invalidate everything else—the ideals, the history, the words etched in marble and the sacrifices of all the people who make the United States a just and safe place to live.”"

Etymology

From the video game Portal (2007), in which a self-aware computer, GLaDOS, lures the player into participating in dangerous experiments with the promise of a cake. As the game progresses, the player discovers graffiti left by the only previous test subject to survive GLaDOS' murderous scheme, including the warning the cake is a lie.

Phrases

chase a rainbow jam tomorrow pie in the sky wild-goose chase

Frequently Paired Words

chase a rainbow jam tomorrow mirage pie in the sky wild-goose chase

Questions

What does the cake is a lie mean?: The end being pursued is unattainable or misguided; the reward promised is false.
Where does the cake is a lie come from?: From the video game Portal (2007), in which a self-aware computer, GLaDOS, lures the player into participating in dangerous experiments with the promise of a cake. As the game progresses, the player discovers graffiti left by the only previous test subject to survive GLaDOS' murderous scheme, including the warning the cake is a lie.

How to pronounce the cake is a lie

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “the cake is a lie”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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