[Vocabulary] Lie

[ScarlettBegoni]

Hello

Are there any differences among:

veritable lie
true lie
real lie
substantial lie

?

And which one is the best for expressing a really big lie, which is lie for sure?

Thank you

 

[emsr2d2]

Hello

Are there any differences among:

veritable lie
true lie
real lie
substantial lie

?

And which one is the best for expressing a really big lie, which is lie for sure?

Thank you

Any lie is a lie. If it's not true, it's a lie. We do have phrases for the different levels of lie, I guess.

A little white lie = small, unimportant lie
A lie = general lie
A whopper = a very big lie

I've never heard of a "veritable lie" or a "substantial lie".

 

[ScarlettBegoni]

true or real lie would be okay?

 

[emsr2d2]

true or real lie would be okay?

I don't see how something can be a "true lie". The two are exact opposites of each other. I suppose something could be a "real lie" as opposed to a "false lie" or a "fake lie" though I can't really think of a context where I would use them.

As I said, a lie is a lie.

 

[Rover_KE]

There's a film called True Lies.

An enigmatic title like this is designed to make you watch the film if only to satisfy your curiosity about why they called it that.

Rover

 

[5jj]

. I suppose something could be a "real lie" as opposed to a "false lie" or a "fake lie" though I can't really think of a context where I would use them.

If I say that my daughter's expensive new hairstyle looks good when I think it looks terrible, we might class this as a white lie.There is no intent to maliciously deceive.
If I tell my wife that I have been called away for an important business conference in London when I am actually going to spend the weekend with my mistress, that's a whopper, a real lie. There is deliberate intent to seriously deceive.

 

[aachu]

Not a teacher.

The word veritable is used as an intensifier. For example in "a veritable curse", "a veritable swine" etc.

So I think it is legitimate to say veritable lie. Isn't it?

 

[5jj]

So I think it is legitimate to say veritable lie.Isn't it?

It's possible, but not very common. COCA gives no examples of 'veritable lie', six of 'real lie' and 93 of 'white lie'.

 

[ScarlettBegoni]

The context I have meant is for example:
Two people are arguing, because one of them is a liar.
-How could you say that? It's a real lie!

Just to express how serious it was, not using "a whopper".

 

[aachu]

Not a teacher.

You could say,"It's an absolute lie" or "It's a total lie".

 

[Raymott]

I don't see how something can be a "true lie". The two are exact opposites of each other.

They are not exact opposites. A lie is something you say when you know it isn't true. A lie does not have to be false; you only have to think it is false when you are claiming it to be true. The laws of perjury and fair play require this.

The police are chasing a man. He comes into your house, and says he's going to hide. The police knock on your door, and ask, "Do you know where this man is?"
You say: "Yes, he is hiding in this house." Now, unbeknown to you, he has actually escaped out your back door and is a few blocks away by now. So what you say is untrue. Is it a lie?

On the other hand:
Mary leaves your place and says she is going to the mall. In fact, she went to the park.
John knocks on your door and asks whether you've seen Mary. But you are jealous of Mary and John, and don't want them meeting, so you say, "Mary has gone to the park." This is true. Is it a lie?

 

[5jj]

Raymott's post reminds me of the old problem about whether it is logically possible to say, "I always lie". If that statement is a lie, then it is true, which makes it untrue. If that statement is true, then it is not true.

To move even further off-thread, I am one of the minority of speakers who still uses a word Raymott used, but in the form unbeknownst. I like it, but I don't recommend it to learners