The Cake is a Lie

Today’s phrase is a fairly recent one.  Languages change over time.  It is often said that languages are alive and evolve.   It is not surprising then that as society changes, so does our language.  Over the last 30 years, video gaming has become more and more popular.  Some of the largest channels on YouTube are gaming channels and that is where our phrase for today came from.

The phrase the cake is a lie comes from a video game called Portal.  Released in 2007, this award-winning puzzle solving game.  Your guide in the game, a robot named GlaDOS, repeatedly tells you that there will be cake.  As you progress through the game, you find a message written on the wall that says, “the cake is a lie.”  The phrase took on a life of its own appearing in mem form across the internet.

Eventually the phrase was applied to other contexts.  It is generally understood to mean a false promise.  The “cake” metaphorically takes the place of any promise.  It does not have to be a physical prize.

Example:  My girlfriend keeps promising to meet my parents if I cook for her.  It has been four months now and I am starting to think the cake is a lie. 

I have no experience playing this game and have only seen it played a few times.   Have you played this game?  What do you think about this phrase being applied to situations outside of the game?

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Reference:
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/the-cake-is-a-lie
https://www.slanglang.net/memes/the-cake-is-a-lie/