Liar, Liar

According to a BBC report men are bigger liars than women, at least in Brittain:

In a poll of 3,000 people, researchers found that the average British man tells three lies every day, that's equivalent to 1,092 a year.

However the average woman appears more honest, lying 728 times a year - around twice a day.

Top lies for men:

1. I didn't have that much to drink
2. Nothing's wrong, I'm fine
3. I had no signal
4. It wasn't that expensive
5. I'm on my way
6. I'm stuck in traffic
7. No, your bum doesn't look big in that
8. Sorry, I missed your call
9. You've lost weight
10. It's just what I've always wanted

Top lies for women:

1. Nothing's wrong, I'm fine
2. I don't know where it is, I haven't touched it
3. It wasn't that expensive
4. I didn't have that much to drink
5. I've got a headache
6. It was in the sale
7. I'm on my way
8. Oh, I've had this ages
9. No, I didn't throw it away
10. It's just what I've always wanted

Booking It--Would You Lie?

According to this article, most Britons have lied about reading books they haven't actually read. Would you? Why? Which one(s)?

I haven't actually lied about reading a book, unless you count "the sin of omission"--simply keeping my mouth shut and hoping nobody realizes I haven't read something. Earlier, I wrote a post about The Shame of not having read a book that everybody else seems to have read. You can check it out if you want.

This semester, on an exam, I did have a student begin his answer to a discussion question like this: "I didn't actually read this stuff, but . . ." Honesty might be a virtue, but offering that information on a test is not the best policy.

Liar, Liar

Do you lie about books? Do you falsely claim to read Tolstoy when you’ve actually been reading Stephenie Meyer? See what the Telegraph’s Melanie McDonagh has to say about lies readers tell in her article “Why Bluffing About Books is a Civilized Art.”