English translation: a little lie, but of various shades of white and various sizes of little
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GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:
white lie
English translation:
a little lie, but of various shades of white and various sizes of little
English to English translations [Non-PRO] Art/Literary - Slang
English term or phrase:white lie
Since this is English to English, I'm looking for the best, most accurate explanation of this expression. The dictionary says, it's either just a lie or it's a fib, which would be a small lie. Then experimenting on Google Translate I also found "pious lie" and "emergency lie". However, personally I thought that this was a huge/big lie or a bold-faced lie. So is it big or small and is it a lie of any particular natural or just general? If of any particular nature, then in what sense/context?
I need native speakers of English only, preferably of American English. I marked this as PRO, because non-PRO's description said: "a question that can be answered by any bilingual person without the aid of a dictionary". Well, I don't need just ANY bilingual person, I need a native speaker of American English.
Explanation: The use of the term white lie is fairly broad which is why you found so many different answers. The "white" in white lie can be used to mean pious as opposed to devious, or for bad purposes. I suppose emergency lie also falls in a similar category as in, "I had to lie, it was an emergency and we had to get this done. Nothing was hurt by the lie."
The "white" is the defining character more than the size of the lie. The white is to say not for dark or for devious purposes. Children are often taught that white lies are okay, and in that circumstances it usually also means a little lie -- as in, "I didn't really lie, I just didn't tell him everything," or "I couldn't admit to certain things so I had to lie a little."
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In your example, the cheating about to be husband is much like the cheating husband. I didn't tell my wife about the other woman or women because I didn't want to hurt her. I love my wife and my children, blah, blah, blah. The husband may think this is a white lie.
Stephanie was the first to explain "white" as the opposite of "dark", which is WHY this type of lie is little. Without this contrast it was just a guessing game (like because of the bride's dress, etc., well, isn't every bride's dress always white, anyway, at least in the West?), why the white color has been chosen to describe this type of lie. That's why I thought, that this was the best answer. Nonetheless, thank you all for your valuable input! 4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer
Just a PS: the white color of the bride's wedding dress and the fact that she is also a white liar, just as the groom is, are all references to the theme; what appears to be quite innocent and white turns out to be not so in the end. Well, that's my interpretation anyway.
I watched the video, nice song. The point that is made in the video is that even something you may consider to be a white lie - a well-intentioned untruth, is a lie nevertheless. In this story, the groom glosses over "just" meeting with another woman because he is committed to marrying the bride who is also the singer of the song. But the feelings he has for this other woman are probably stronger than he wants to admit to himself - he's actually lying to himself too. But, with regard to his commitment and before his bride, the lie is made to seem/be unimportant or "white". Turns out the bride has been at least harboring similar feelings for another guy as well (could even be the best man - but I would have to re-check) and she admits to the groom just before the wedding ceremony that she's been lying (to him) too. She turns around and kisses the other guy she has feelings for. So, a white lie, it seems, is sometimes used to gloss over something that is more serious than people want to admit to, for various reasons. But a lie is a lie, and one should always be careful about lying, especially if you are lying to yourself and to somebody you are about to marry.
I believe that the song is using the idea of a so-called non harmful white lie. The man lied to the woman he was going to marry because he didn't want to hurt her feelings.
After watching the clip the meaning of white lie is just the same, but we find yet another evidence that logic goes out the window when it comes to songwriting.. The song title is "White Liar" for the one reason that the bride is wearing the white dress... It's just a play on words. A white lie is not a huge lie and it doesn't hurt. So, I think you are perfectly free to translate it as you please. :)
Sorry I can't view the video in my present location (it's blocked), but it sounds as if you should consider the possibility that the term is being used ironically, or that "white" might be a play on the bride's wedding color.
I've read several comments so far and all have been very helpful. But the context, in which I'd like to understand this expression the most, is the link I gave you in the beginning, the music video clip here:
Although I'm getting the point that white lie is a small lie, the story in this song seems to convey that it indeed is a pretty hurtful lie, since it does matter a lot, when you find out at your wedding that your fiancée was unfaithful and now she drops you, too, at the very last moment. So would you call it a big or a small lie in this movie clip?
Of all the definitions of 'white lie' you've been offered, I think your own 2 suggestions are the least applicable: the character of a 'white' lie is certainly not specifically a big one; nor is it by any means a 'bare-faced' one (more usual than 'bold-faced', I believe) — though of course, it is almost certainly a deliberate lie (rather than an inadvertent one, for example)
It's a "little" lie, generally told so as not to hurt someone's feelings. The meaning is the same in UK and US English
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Answers
12 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +12
a lie that causes no harm to anyone
Explanation: ...hence "white"
Otherwise known as a "little white lie."
The implication is that there is nothing immoral about a white lie since it is harmless. This is also the source of its overtones as a "practical lie" or "emergency lie." This article sheds light on the common perception:
The translation workplace 
peer agreement (net): +12