Difference Between ExactWords and MetaphoricallyTrue

I have a question about these two tropes before I apply some future edits. I've taken a look at both, and as far as I can understand: Metaphorically True is when a lie is told but its wording makes it technically truthful, whereas Exact Words is technically fulfiling a previously-stated promise or request or condition according to its wording. (Basically, if the dishonesty is the "egg" and the words being spoken are the "chicken", then with Exact Words the "chicken" came before the egg and with Metaphorically True the "egg" came before the chicken, as I understand it.) I really feel I need to check; have I got that about right?

Edited by Derv0sB2 on Oct 20th 2022 at 2:03:14 AM

Exact Words is when the statement is entirely truthful, just taken in unexpected ways. Sometimes mistakes are made because the other person misunderstood what was said. Metaphorically True is when the statement is only accurate through arguing abstract definitions the same as a synonym, and usually done after the fact as a weak defense.

Metaphorically True used to be named "Jedi Truth" and then "From A Certain Point Of View" (or possibly the other way around) because it was directly inspired by the major example from the original Star Wars trilogy: In the first movie, Obi-wan Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker that his father was betrayed and murdered by the villainous Darth Vader. In the second movie, Vader reveals the awful truth that he is Luke's father. In the third movie, Luke calls out Obi-wan for lying, and Obi-wan spins a metaphor about how Anakin Skywalker's fall to the Dark Side was basically betraying everything he used to stand for, and killing the good man he used to be. "So what I told you was true... from a certain point of view."

So that, I think, is the archetypal example of what the trope is about. It's a lie by any reasonable standard, that the teller tries to insist isn't a lie by abusing a Personal Dictionary or other poetic reinterpretations of the language.

Another example is from Bleach. When Ryuuken's son Uryuu is young, he doesn't understand why his father is a doctor instead of a Quincy like the rest of the family, and why his father seems to hate Quincies. Ryuuken's responses leave Uryuu with misconceptions for years until he finally learns the truth.

• "I have no interest and you have no talent" is Exact Words. Uryuu grows up thinking his father has no power until he learns differently when Ryuuken unexpectedly intervenes one day to save his life. When confronted about this, Ryuuken states that he didn't say he had no power, he just said he had no interest in using it.
• When Uryuu asks his father why he hates Quincies, Ryuuken (who runs a hospital) states there's no money in it. When Uryuu asks his grandfather about this comment, Souken tells him that what Ryuuken said is true from a certain point of view: he has a family to look after, so needs to be able to provide for them and being a Quincy doesn't pay the bills. Both men are hiding the real reason from Uryuu, hence the twisted answers. Uryuu therefore grows up thinking his father is both money-obsessed and powerless.

In short:

• Exact Words relies on hidden ambiguity (the words have a different meaning to the obvious one, but are truthful no matter which meaning is used)
• Metaphorically True relies on hidden context (it looks like a true statement until the context is provided, at which point, it looks like a lie)