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a five-piece

Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

white lie

English answer:

a little lie, but of various shades of white and various sizes of little

Added to glossary by bochkor
Mar 10, 2010 20:02
14 yrs ago
1 viewer *
English term

white lie

Non-PRO English Art/Literary Slang
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.

Ref.: Miranda Lambert: White Liar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoR2Oax82kY
Responses
4 +3 a little lie, but of various shades of white and various sizes of little
4 +12 a lie that causes no harm to anyone
5 +5 an unimportant lie, to be tactful or polite
4 -1 creative writing
Change log

Mar 12, 2010 08:33: Jim Tucker (X) changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (3): Tony M, Ildiko Santana, Jim Tucker (X)

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Discussion

Bernhard Sulzer Mar 11, 2010:
white and innocent bride 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.
Bernhard Sulzer Mar 11, 2010:
a white liar is a liar too 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.
Stephanie Ezrol Mar 11, 2010:
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.
Ildiko Santana Mar 10, 2010:
looking for logic in song lyrics..? 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. :)
Jim Tucker (X) Mar 10, 2010:
probably a non-normative usage 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.
bochkor (asker) Mar 10, 2010:
P.S.: There's a 15-second commercial, before the song starts. Please, be patient, thanks!
bochkor (asker) Mar 10, 2010:
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:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoR2Oax82kY

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?
Tony M Mar 10, 2010:
Not big or bold-faced 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)
bochkor (asker) Mar 10, 2010:
Thank you, Rebecca!
Rebecca Davis Mar 10, 2010:
Don't worry about the points...Have a good evening
bochkor (asker) Mar 10, 2010:
Please, post your answer as an answer, because here in the Discussion section I can't grade it!
Rebecca Davis Mar 10, 2010:
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

Responses

+3
13 mins
Selected

a little lie, but of various shades of white and various sizes of little

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."

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 hrs (2010-03-11 02:07:51 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

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.
Peer comment(s):
agree Gary D : excelent answer.. a White lie like.. "I didn't eat the choclate" when you have choclate on your lips and the empty wrapper in front of you
5 hrs
Thanks Gary. Sometimes its just the chocolate wrappers you left lying around
agree Alexandra Taggart : "avoiding to hirt someone you love"
1 day 2 hrs
Thanks Alexandra
agree William [Bill] Gray : A great definition.
2 days 22 hrs
Thank you Bill.
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "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!"
+12
12 mins

a lie that causes no harm to anyone

...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:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/27/the-little-white-li...
Peer comment(s):
agree Derek Gill Franßen : I'd say "not meant to harm," but yes (fun article). :)
13 mins
Thanks, yes, that's more precise. (So hard to get anything right.)
agree Suzan Hamer : Causes no harm and usually prevents hurt feelings. ... At least it is the teller's intention not to hurt someone's feelings.
19 mins
Ahh, thank you for that distinction.
agree Lietta Warren-Granato : Exactly! A tipical white lie would be the answer to: "Do I look all right with my new perm?"
29 mins
agree Jenni Lukac (X)
43 mins
agree Tony M : Yes... it might be little and insignificant, or possibly quite a whopper... but the idea is that in some way it is a lie that is for a good reason (and so supposedly justifiable)
1 hr
agree John Detre
1 hr
agree jccantrell : Hmmmm, "Do I look fat in this dress?" Answer is almost ALWAYS a white lie.
1 hr
agree kmtext
11 hrs
agree B D Finch : Exactly the same in UK English. The idea is more or less that lying is generally sinful but God would understand that in this case it isn't because the lie was told with good intentions and to do no harm.
14 hrs
agree Rolf Keiser
18 hrs
agree Paula Vaz-Carreiro
1 day 1 hr
agree Alexandra Taggart : also - telling stories (about wonderful holidays)
1 day 2 hrs
Something went wrong...
+5
1 hr

an unimportant lie, to be tactful or polite

Not to disagree with Jim or Stephanie, but what I learned about 'white lie' is slightly different. True, it is a type of deception in the form of an untruthful statement. It is an unimportant lie that has no severe consequences, one that causes no harm; quite the contrary. Besides the intention to deceive others there is a further intention: to be tactful or polite, to protect someone's feelings. I think we might as well call this type of lie an "innocent" lie.
To give you a few examples: Let's say I just saw my best friend's ex boyfriend at the store with his new partner. My best friend calls me the same day and asks if I've seen her ex lately, and I say "No, haven't seen him.." That is a white lie. I know that the truth would make my friend upset, so I lie.
When we tell our kids all the stories about Santa Claus, we mean no harm, we want to protect them as long as we can from the pain they will feel when they discover the truth. We don't want to hurt them, so we lie about Santa and the rain deer and the sleigh and chimneys.. (for years! :)
A very common white lie is when, almost without fail, we tell our mother/father/sibling/friend that lives far away that we are doing just fine! - never mind that we just lost our job or broke our ankle or our kid dropped out of high school... We don't want our loved ones to worry, they can't help anyway, and they are unlikely to find out we lied.
Peer comment(s):
agree lindaellen (X) : This is my US/native understanding of a white lie - not to hurt someone's feelings or to spare them unnecessary pain or sorrows.
10 hrs
Thank you
agree Colin Ryan (X) : Yes, a lie is a lie but in a white lie, the end (easily) justifies the means
12 hrs
Thank you
agree gabiomelka
14 hrs
Thank you
agree Tina Vonhof (X) : I think 'the end justifies the means' sums it up nicely.
19 hrs
Thank you
agree Alexandra Taggart : Yes, in order to be tactful, as a part of a good diplomacy.
1 day 1 hr
Thank you
Something went wrong...
-1
1 day 3 hrs

creative writing

is also often called "a white lie", as the writer's fantasy drives her/him away from the real.
http://www.ellenwhiteexposed.com/rea/rea3.htm
Peer comment(s):
neutral Jim Tucker (X) : That is just a wordplay on the subject's (White's) name.
9 hrs
disagree Kim Metzger : Sorry, but this makes no sense.
16 hrs
Something went wrong...
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