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I don't see why it can't be both
Exact Words means complying something to the word but not its spirit.
I think the Exact Words answer for Bob is Little "No", since if Bob was openly gay, Alex would have asked about Bob's boyfriend instead. This means the "spirit" of the question is "Who is your SO like?" Bob's answer—an accurate description of Carl—thus complies with the spirit of the question but avoiding having to come out of the closet.
Scientia et Libertas | Per Aspera ad Astra Nova
^ The All-Concealing "I" did mention the following:
- For example, Japanese generally has separate male and female first-person pronouns, so Gender Neutral Writing isn't much easier in the first person than in the third person. In fact, because people outside of family and friends are often referred to by last name alone, it can be easier to surprise the reader about the gender of a third person than it would be to surprise the reader about the gender of the narrator.
But is that trope flexible to cover this situation, as Bob is definitely using the third-person to hide his Love Interest's gender (and by extension his sexuality)?
Scientia et Libertas | Per Aspera ad Astra Nova
This is currently listed as an example of Exact Words, but I'm wondering if it belongs to Pronoun Trouble.
Serial Numbers Filed Off version: Alex asks Bob to describe his girlfriend, not knowing Bob is Closet Gay. Bob uses a list of gender-neutral descriptors that does apply to his boyfriend Carl, but to Alex, Bob sounds like he's describing some kind of Meganekko.
Bob: They're really smart, and composed. They're also hardworking, and really dependable. Also... they look cute in glasses.
(The above is the English translation; but a literal translation from the Japanese would have all the subjects dropped)The English translation is certainly an example of Pronoun Trouble (using "they" to hide somebody's gender), but how about the original text?