His many embellishings of the tale stretched the credulity of the listeners.

I do not foresmell any immediate harm to thee from the harness, but as you might run a risk in using it, perhaps it will be safest for me to take it, said the Medium.

It is a profitable thing, if one is wise, to seem foolish - Aeschylus

to fraise a battaion is to line or cover it every way with bayonets