Do you lie a lot?

I'm just wondering how often people lie?  Like do you lie for fun? Everyday?  Are they just white lies and why do you do it?

No, I never lie, being the queen of all I survey, a classic novelist, holder of the key to unlock the mystery of the sphinx, the cure for stupidity, and the location of El Dorado, I find no need to tell tall tales.

Original Post by bagga:

No, I never lie, being the queen of all I survey, a classic novelist, holder of the key to unlock the mystery of the sphinx, the cure for stupidity, and the location of El Dorado, I find no need to tell tall tales.

 LIAR!!!

The last lie I told for fun was to someone asking if to become a witch you have to worship Satan and commit evil deeds. For some reason it just occurred to me to say that in order to be a true witch, you have to be born with a tail. Just for fun I don't know why I did it. FWIW I did go back later and answer the question correctly.

It depends.  Is the lie going to benefit me?  And if so, how much?  That's pretty much the deciding factor for me. 

Yep.  I lie all the time.  Heck, I'm lying right now 

I don't lie on a regular basis, maybe a white lie here and there to get out of obligations like work. But one story that really sticks out and I still feel pretty bad about happened in high school. There was this boy in my typing class who was convinced I was a witch. He wasn't mean about it, really, but he did make fun of my cloths a lot. (He used to bark like a dog at me because I wore a dog collar).  He would ask me all the time if I was a witch. One day I just gave up, told him he had figured me out and that I was surprised he was able to, considering I had cast a spell on him. He bought it. He liked this girl and asked me if I could do anything to make her like him back. I sold him a $1 tube of scented oil for $10 and told him it was a potion and he needed to wear it on his wrists for 5 days. Well, at least he smelled good for awhile. :) So that lie, that lie right there? That one was for fun and profit.

Never!

I try my hardest not to lie.. I figure there isn't much of a point b/c the truth is going to come out sooner or later and there will be a lot less explaining to do if I just tell the truth in the first place...

I have a tendency to tell the truth even when I know I shouldn't. I don't like lying to someone's face. I mean, I don't like to hurt people's feelings or anything, but if they ask my opinion, I'll tell them what I really think in as nice of a way as possible (if it's not positive).

I embellish stories for my own or others entertainment sometimes, but never anything malicious.

I'm a bad liar.

Only to myself.

Liar^

Only to Tom.

If you consider sarcasm lying, I do it constantly.

I have no problems lying to a telemarketer - "She's not home" or "Sorry, I'm on my way out the door" (that is, if I'm stupid enough to not screen the call in the first place).  I take great joy in reporting them if they're violating terms of the "do not call" list we signed up to last year.

Is perpetuating the belief in Santa Claus in your kids considered lying?  Well, we don't actively perpetuate it - my oldest basically picked it up from friends at school - but it's not like we've made any effort to dissuade him from it.

And I have a tendency to lie to myself to frequently justify procrastination.  Why?  Don't know exactly - I'll figure it out tomorrow.

I always thought I was the worst liar, so I didn't do it. Then, I had children. It is amazing how many white lies I tell them in order to keep control of a situation. For example:

1. If you misbehave at Target, the manager will come out and ask you to leave or make you stand in the corner.

2. Eating carrots will give you superhero eyes.

3. Every time you tell a fib, Santa takes one present off of your list.

Other than things like that, I always try to tell them the truth about things.

1. If you misbehave at Target, the manager will come out and ask you to leave or make you stand in the corner.

2. Eating carrots will give you superhero eyes.

3. Every time you tell a fib, Santa takes one present off of your list.

Oh man, thanks for the chuckle! I remember when I had my first child, I had this stupid plan where I would always answer each question she asked me honestly and never lie to get her to do what I want. LOL, what a joke that turned out to be!

I lie way too much for my own good. Even if I have no reason too lie, I still lie just cause (This happens mostly with my parents). I went through a year in my life where I basically lied everyday to a lot of different people for various reasons (Not getting into it!!) , so after a while you just kind of get used to it. Its like a bad habit. As for strangers, yea lying is fun. if your never gonna see them again, why not who cares? Ive had so many funny experiences and been so many different things I cant keep track anymore. As for friends, I lie only to protect them, which happens to be a lot lately :s

I have a reputation for being a terrible liar. But the truth is, I am an excellent liar, and sometimes I have thrown in a lie that I know will be discovered just so I can pretend to be a bad liar and therefore confirm in eveyone's mind that they can tell if I am lying. Nefarious!!

I only lie for good now, never for evil. My gift is a responsibility. Sometimes I use it for profit, like when playing Balderdash, but that's about it....I realized a long time ago that the person it hurts most is myself. Being raised Catholic means I am a good liar but always feel really guilty about it.

When I was young, I lied all the time, mostly to protect my parents.  I think the real me would have been a disappointment to them.  But I grew up and decided that the real me isn't that bad after all.  So now I only lie if I am bored or for entertainment.  But always remember if you are going to lie, keep it as close to the truth as possible and keep it simple.  People get in trouble when they try to embellish too much.  Take it from a professional.

I lie when it's more convenient than telling the truth/whole story. for example, I'll be shopping at the mall and see a girl from my algebra class or something, we'll chat for a little, etc. then my mom will pick me up and ask "did you see anyone you knew in there?" and I'll just simply say no, because I'm too lazy to tell the story, as it didn't affect my shopping experience, plus my mom probably doesn't even know who the girl is.

also, I lie all the time about little things. it's a habit, a bad one I suppose, but I don't lie about anything major or important, and never (at least not intentionally) tell a lie that will hurt someone. I'm quite good at lying.

and other times, of course, I lie to keep myself out of trouble! come onnnn, you can't say you never have (;

I prefer brutal honesty.

If you lie to somebody you like, they'll end up finding out the truth eventually and be more hurt.

If you lie to somebody you don't like, chances are you'll do more damage with the truth :P