What Does “made out of whole cloth” mean?
Definition:
The phrase made out of whole cloth means entirely false – without factual basis; entirely fabricated.
A variation of this idiom:
made from whole cloth
Origin
This idiom comes from the days when garments were handmade and very expensive because they were made “out of whole cloth”. Sometimes, tailors would falsely advertise garments being made “out of whole cloth,” when actually they were sewed together from different cuts (a patched garment).
Example(s)
His account of the accident was made out of whole cloth.
I don’t believe what he says. It is made out of whole cloth to me.
This idiom is in the clothes category.
