To have a story or information become distorted or exaggerated as it is passed from person to person; to misrepresent the truth through rumor.
Era:
Ancient
Frequency:
Synonym:
Story:
During the Spring and Autumn period, there was a family named Ding in the State of Song who did not have a well at home and had to fetch water from a distant place daily.
Later, Mr. Ding hired someone to help him dig a well. He felt that by having his own well, he had effectively 'gained' a person's labor because he no longer needed to spend time fetching water. So, he told everyone he met, 'I dug a well and gained a person' (meaning saved a laborer).
However, as his words spread, they were misunderstood and distorted. People began to say that the Ding family had actually dug up a person from the well, completely changing the original meaning of his statement.