perfidy

You've given me a flashback to the most memorable lesson my Dad taught me, and it includes several points notably and regrettably absent from the Wiki:

1. Never lie about something that doesn't matter
2. Never lie about something that can easily be proven false
3. Sincerity is important, and when you learn to fake that, you're golden.

His point, of course, was similar to that in the Wiki article: If you're going to lie, at least be good at it.

Either that or his point was to get me to quit being such a lying liar, a necessary lesson for me at that young age. Hell, Al Franken could have written a book all about me when I was 8 or 9.

That reminds me of something that a wise friend once told me. There are four kinds of lie, he said:

1. Outright fabrication.
2. Telling the truth mixed in with some fantasy elements
3. Telling some of the truth, in such a way as to lead the listener astray.
4. Telling the whole truth, but so unconvincingly that people think you're lying.

Apparently, I have a natural gift for that last one.