Anime and Manga
Miyuki Shirogane: I've never been turned down in my life!
Narration: Not a lie, since he's never confessed his love to anyone.
Narration: Not a lie, since he's never confessed his love to anyone.
"She wasn't lying to me. She really believed it. And at one point, I did too. She was my little sister."
— Lucy Heartifillia upon realizing just who Michelle/Imitatia really was with her sacrifice, Fairy Tail
Film
Luke: Obi-Wan, why didn't you tell me? You told me Vader betrayed and murdered my father.
Obi-Wan: Your father was seduced by the dark side of the Force. He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed. So what I told you was true, from a certain point of view.
Luke: A certain point of view?
Obi-Wan: Luke, you will find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.
Obi-Wan: Your father was seduced by the dark side of the Force. He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed. So what I told you was true, from a certain point of view.
Luke: A certain point of view?
Obi-Wan: Luke, you will find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.
Harry: I've never lied to you, I've always told you some version of the truth.
Erica: The truth doesn't have versions, okay?
Erica: The truth doesn't have versions, okay?
Literature
"A truth that's told with bad intent
Beats all the lies you can invent."
Beats all the lies you can invent."
— William Blake, "Auguries of Innocence"
"Get your facts first, and then you can distort them at your leisure."
The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake, and if you want to find snakes, look behind words that have changed their meaning.
"In a manner of speaking, yes. In another manner of speaking, which is a rather more precise and accurate manner of speaking, no."
— Carrot's father, Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
"Ashwathamanote is dead."
— Yudhistira, Mahabharata
The slickest way in the world to lie is to tell the right amount of truth at the right time- and then shut up.
Live-Action TV
"But the fact reporters will echo PIO's does explain certain things — like the ubiquity of phrases like 'officer-involved shooting'. You see it in police accounts all the time, but it's a weird term for reporters to repeat, because it deliberately omits crucial information about how the officer was involved. If you went to someone's house for dinner and they said 'tonight, there is a rat-involved dinner', you’d justifiably have follow-up questions. Are we going to a Chuck E. Cheese? Is the chef being controlled by a tiny French rat under his hat? Or are we going to be on an episode of Kitchen Nightmares? All three are technically 'rat-involved', but some options are easier to live with than others."
— John Oliver, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, on crime reporting
John Oliver: McKinsey's government clients also include regulators. Which can get a little weird, when you consider that McKinsey also represents corporate clients. For instance: remember how it worked with Purdue pharma? While it was working for them, it was also working with the FDA. That sure seems like a clear conflict of interest. And, it was one that even Mr. "Positive and enduring change" here found a little hard to explain to Congress after the fact.
Rep. Katie Porter: (from news footage) Okay. So, let me ask you, did you disclose to the FDA your — McKinsey's work at the same time — did you disclose to the FDA that McKinsey was working at the same time it was working for the FDA, that it was working for Purdue? Did you disclose that to the FDA?
Sternfels: (from news footage) We made clear in multiple instances that the individuals involved had experience in both pharmaceuticals and opioids.
Porter: (from news footage) Reclaiming my time. Mr. Sternfels, they didn’t have experience. They were the identical humans working for both at the same time.
John: Exactly, and there’s a big difference between having experience working for both, and actively working for both at the same time. It’s the same difference between telling your wife about your ex-girlfriend, and telling your wife about your current girlfriend. One is dramatically worse than the other.
Captain Picard: I think that Nicholas Locarno wanted to end his Academy career in a blaze of glory, that he convinced the four of you to learn the Kolvoord Starburst for the commencement demonstration. If it worked, it would thrill the assembled guests, and Locarno would graduate as a living legend. Only it didn't work, and Joshua Albert paid the price. Am I correct?
Wesley Crusher: [says absolutely nothing]
Picard: Cadet, I asked you a question! Am I correct?!
Wesley: I choose not to answer, sir.
Picard: You choose not to answer?! But you've already given an answer to the inquiry. That answer was a lie!
Wesley: I said the accident occurred after the loop! It did!
Picard: What you neglected to mention was that following the loop, your team attempted a maneuver that was the direct cause of the crash. You told the truth up to a point, but a lie of omission is still a lie!
Wesley Crusher: [says absolutely nothing]
Picard: Cadet, I asked you a question! Am I correct?!
Wesley: I choose not to answer, sir.
Picard: You choose not to answer?! But you've already given an answer to the inquiry. That answer was a lie!
Wesley: I said the accident occurred after the loop! It did!
Picard: What you neglected to mention was that following the loop, your team attempted a maneuver that was the direct cause of the crash. You told the truth up to a point, but a lie of omission is still a lie!
Music
"And I will not lie to you
But I definitely only gave you half the truth"
But I definitely only gave you half the truth"
— Kaiser Chiefs, "Half the Truth"
Stand-Up Comedy
"They say the economy is essentially sound because people are considering buying things. That's like saying fat people are healthy because they might exercise."
— Robin Williams, Weapons of Self-Destruction
Video Games
"Well, lying is lying, even from a 'certain point of view.'"
— Jedi Exile, Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
"[Sasuke] and I met back in our home ti—own. Hometown. We became fast friends."
It was...not a lie. Not if you considered all of modern-day Japan one "town."
It was...not a lie. Not if you considered all of modern-day Japan one "town."
— The main character, Ikemen Sengoku
Webcomics
Obi Wan: Their shooting is precise... from a certain point of view.
Luke: That's Jedi code for "I just lied my butt off", isn't it?
Luke: That's Jedi code for "I just lied my butt off", isn't it?
Laura: But... I thought you said you worked in a hotel? How can you afford this?!
Sixx: I said I worked in the hotel business. Which I do. By which I meant I own a few hundred...
Sixx: I said I worked in the hotel business. Which I do. By which I meant I own a few hundred...
— Collar 6
Western Animation
"Senators, I presume you're acquainted with the collection of half-truths and hyperbole known as Obi-Wan Kenobi?"
— Satine Kryze, Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Real Life
"A lie that is half-truth is the darkest of all lies."
"The only reason Steven was awarded the black belt was because the judge, who was famous for his laziness, fell asleep during Steven’s presentation. The judge just gave him the black belt."
— Miyako Fujitani on Steven Seagal
"Pay attention: 'Access to healthcare' is not healthcare. I have 'access' to Ryan Reynolds. But he's not covering me."
"A halbe emes iz a gantse lign."
(Half a truth is a whole lie.)
(Half a truth is a whole lie.)
— Yiddish proverb
