JOIN USSome “terminological inexactLook for the excessive blinking. Too much perspiration is another give away. And yes, the bid to buy time. Not to forget the stuttering. Liars, we are told, time and again, leave all these cues. If only we are more alert, observant, we would see through the deceit, wouldn’t we?
Alas! The truth is that there are not always Pinocchio responses to a lie. Some are really good at this fabrication business. They make eye contact, sound convincing, appeal to the goodness of our hearts. We, the helpless victims, walk into this trap of deceit rather willingly.
That needn’t be the case, though. There are certain statements that are almost always a lie. No matter who says it, to whom, and when, the credibility is suspect.
Don’t believe us? Here, we have got proof:
Age is just a number
The person using this line is, invariably, someone on the wrong side of 40; someone who yearns to be young again. The ‘uncle’ at the gym who seems to have borrowed his son’s shorts; the friend’s mom who wants to have the same fringe hair cut as the latest teenage pop icon; the colleague at work who hasn’t grown a day older since she turned 39 more than five years ago; the list can be rather exhaustive.
Bollywood actresses, who were popular in the 90s, trying to make a comeback, sound the most convincing as they parrot the age philosophy. But then, they go on to do anti-aging cream commercials, begging the question: If it’s just a number, why try so hard?
Sorry, my phone was on silent
Being blunt is not everyone’s cup of tea. So, people try dodgy ways to get the point across. If someone refuses to take your calls, despite repeated attempts, and looks flustered when you bump into each other unexpectedly, the-phone-was-on-silent is the most common excuse. Don’t fall for the profuse apologies. If the person in question is someone you have lent money to, waste no time in making the recovery. For matters of the heart, it’s game over. Time to move on!
This is my last cigarette!
Winners never quit and quitters never win goes the adage. And some addicts have mastered the art of twisting it to their advantage. Resolutions get made every New Year, birthday and anniversary, only to be postponed. There’s always an excuse - promotion at work, no promotion at work - for that last drink, that last cigarette.
“I’ll do it tomorrow,” is the most common corollary. Tomorrow, as time will tell, never comes. If someone wants to quit, now is the time. It’s now or never. There’s nothing in between.
Of course! I can keep a secret
Everybody wants to be part of it, but nobody wants to keep it. Secret, that is. The maid wants to know why the lady of the house is not speaking with the mother-in-law any more. After numerous efforts, once she gets the weakling to confide in her, the maid has another issue at hand. “This is so juicy…my stomach hurts. I need to tell this to someone!”
If someone is too keen to know a secret, chances are the person will be just as keen to pass it on. For what’s the point of knowing something confidential, if that knowledge can’t be flaunted…discreetly, of course!
I don’t lie
Be wary of people who don’t lie. Or claim not to, especially in the middle of an argument or confrontation. More often than not, it’s a red herring. Alert!
Picture this: You call up your spouse’s office only to realise that he is on leave for the day. But he left home as usual in the morning. When asked, in the evening, he looks hurt, offended even. “I thought you know me. I don’t lie. Don’t you trust me anymore?” That’s, perhaps, what Bill Clinton told his wife when the rumour first broke out about his affair with an office intern. The world was witness to how that story turned out. Better alert than sorry. That’s what we had told Hillary Clinton too.
You believe us, don’t you? itudes” are easy to spot. DH LIVING tells you how.