What phrase about patients is Gregory House famous for repeating in House M.D.?

Gregory House is famous for repeating the phrase “Everybody lies” in House M.D. The line expresses his belief that patients often hide, omit, or distort information, whether from embarrassment, fear, confusion, or self-protection.

House uses the phrase as a diagnostic principle rather than merely a personal insult. He assumes that a patient's account may be incomplete and encourages his team to investigate behavior, medical records, family members, and physical evidence. This skepticism drives many of the show's case plots.

The saying became one of the series' best-known catchphrases and reflects its detective-story structure. House treats symptoms and testimony as clues, then revises his theories when new evidence contradicts the initial history. The phrase does not mean that every patient deliberately deceives doctors in the same way.

It is often paraphrased as “everyone lies,” but the wording most strongly associated with House is “Everybody lies.” Similar ideas appear in earlier medical and detective fiction, yet the show made this specific formulation part of House's identity.