1694. Congreve, Double Dealer, Act iv., Sc. iii. You fib, you
baggage, you do understand, and you shall understand.
1712. Arbuthnot, Hist. of John Bull, pt. IV., ch. iv. Whereby one
may know when you fib, and when you speak truth.
1755. Johnson, Dict. of Eng. Lang., s.v. Fib, a cant word amongst
children.
1863. Alex. Smith, Dreamthorp, p. 11. Could I have fibbed in these
days; Could I have betrayed a comrade?
Also, used substantively = (1) a lie; (2) a liar; see quot., 1862.
1738. Swift, Polite Convers., Dial. 2. If I had said so I should
have told a fib.
1750. Fielding, Tom Jones, bk. III., ch. iv. Those who will tell
one fib will hardly stick at another.
1773. Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, Act iii. Ask me no
questions, and I’ll tell you no fibs.
1861. H. Kingsley, Ravenshoe, chap. 58. ‘Oh! you dreadful fib,’
said Flora.
1883. Hawley Smart, Hard Lines, ch. xix. Mrs. Charrington saw no
harm ... in the utterance of a pretty fib; but she refused to place
a deliberate lie upon paper.