A white lie is a small, harmless lie told out of politeness. People tell white lies to avoid hurting someone or upsetting them over something minor: praising a disappointing present or saying that dinner was delicious. The expression is neutral, so it works both in conversation and in an IELTS essay about honesty.
When would you say a white lie?
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tell (someone) a white lie; a white lie + about + something; it's (just) a white lie
- I told my aunt a white lie and said I loved the scarf she had knitted for me.
- The hotel owner asked if we'd slept well, and we told a white lie to avoid upsetting her.
- Is it ever acceptable to tell a white lie to protect someone's feelings?
What changed
First versionI told my boss a lie for salvation and said his new logo looked great.
RevisionI told my boss a white lie and said his new logo looked great.
A lie for salvation is not an English phrase, and a native speaker would struggle to understand it: salvation is mostly linked to saving someone's soul. English has a ready-made expression for a polite, harmless untruth, a white lie, and it replaced the incorrect phrase.
A white lie is always something minor that harms nobody. For a serious untruth, for example hiding bad news from someone to protect them, white lie sounds too light; lie to protect someone works better: She lied to protect her brother.
Your turn
When my grandmother asked about her cake, I ___ a white lie and said it was the best I'd ever tasted.
Show the answer
told — In English you tell a lie, and the same goes for tell a white lie. Say is used to report the actual words, as in the second part of the sentence: said it was the best I'd ever tasted. So said a white lie sounds wrong.
Think of a time when you told a lie to be polite. Write who you told it to and what exactly you said.
I told my neighbour a white lie and said her loud music didn't bother me at all.
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