"A lie is just a great story that someone ruined with the truth."Who else but Barney Stinson to define what lies are with his razor-sharp sense of wit. Pretty much hit the bull's eye here, didn't he?
And why wouldn't he? Despite being a fictional character, he happens to be male, and keeping in line with his gender, is quite acquainted with the fine art that is lying.
Before you accuse me of being biased, here's what the research guys have to tell us in a poll mentioned by the BBC.
"Men are three times more likely to lie as women."
Wait, there's more. Men, according to the poll, dish out an average of three lies per day, compared to women, who average a fib a day.
And it only gets interesting from this point onward. Men, neat little liars that they are, tend to lie "big" (why wouldn't they?), blowing up their income, height, social status, and, umm...other things too. Whereas women, quite naturally lie "down", subtracting numbers when it comes to their age and weight.
But these points would only seem acceptable if we took things at face value. Lying, for instance, has several facets to it, and it would really seem unfair if we simply label either sexes of being more proficient at it. Because when it comes to lying, the frequency hardly matters when compared to the intensity, purpose, and aftermath of the lie. Which is why we've listed a bunch of lies as told by either sexes, so that you'd be able to judge who the bigger liar is. Here they are...
Our Pretty Little Liars
"Not tonight honey, I have a headache."
"No, that dress doesn't make you look fat."
"It wasn't that expensive."
"No way! I wasn't checking her out."
"Baby, you're the best I've ever had!"
"Of course I was listening."
"I'm fine."
"I'm fine."
"I'll be ready in a minute."
"I've already left, and I'm on my way."
"I love hanging out with your friends/sister/mother!"
"I'd love to spend the holidays with your family!"
"I bought it on sale."
"My phone's signal was really weak."
"He? Oh, he's just an old acquaintance from college."
"She? Oh, she's just an old colleague."
"Everything's really busy at my office lately."
"I have a work conference in Vegas this Sunday. And every Sunday."
"This baby is yours."
"I'm being transferred to Antarctica."
Irrespective of the gender we belong to, lying is something that is inherently human, and there are no two ways about it!
