little white lies
Polite protective fibs
Little white lies are minor falsehoods told to avoid hurting someone's feelings or to smooth over social situations.
The white suggests innocence—these aren't malicious deceptions but harmless fibs: I told a little white lie and said I loved her haircut.
The phrase often appears in justifications for dishonesty that seems kind or convenient.
- excuseOffered reason for wrongdoing
- mistruthFalse statement
- bending the truthSelective honesty, misleading intent
- dishonestInclined to deceive
- mendaciousProne to lying
euphemism · good intentions · deception · secrecy · conflict avoidance · impression management · rationalization · face-saving · misrepresentative · polite fiction · whitewashing · integrity · hyperbole · saving face · permissibility · hedge · benevolence · social lubricant
little white lieswhopper
Outsized thing or untruth
perjury · fraud · criminal deception · betrayal · slander
little white liesbrutal honesty
Unsparing directness in speech
unvarnished truth · hard truths · full disclosure · naked truth · straight talk
little white liesbetrayals
Breaches of loyalty
treachery · cons · swindles · manipulations
little, white, lies, littler, littlest, whiteness, whiten, whitened, whitening