I witnessed a conversation between two people today which steadily got more and more heated,
Anyway one was saying to the other that he wasnt telling the truth.
To cut to the chase, the second asked the first , are you calling me a liar. When the answer came back yes, he exploded with rage.
So what is it about the word Liar that causes such a stooshie? How can you say someone is not telling the truth, or what someone is saying is wrong, but its a big no-no to actually say that they are a liar?
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Two things; firstly I said I didn't believe something, which i think is different to saying someone is a liar. And I think I was fairly explicit about that point.
However, to say someone is a liar I think ,for the most part, becomes offensive because it tends to bring to mind deliberate deceit.
"I do not believe that Party X will be good for the country even if you tell me it is"
is quite different to
"You are a liar when you say Part X will be good."
So I don't think its the word "liar" itself, I think its the accusation of deliberate deceit behind it which goes far beyond exaggeration, being wrong, being mistaken, mis-remembering or anything else.
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thats because we mostly use the term b#%&%#ks that can be used between friends.
no one gets upset using that word in that context.
calling someone a liar is more direct and us brits dont like being told direct but we do like being direct to other people
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Liar suggests habituallygiven to telling untruths. It's a judgement of someone's general character, not just their truthfullness on this occasion.
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I know that most people on the forum are liars when they describe their cars: most drive clapped out Ford Escorts described as BMWs.
I am , however, far too polite to say so.
:-)
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Ask yourself, can I prove this is a lie? If not, stick to saying you don't believe it.
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Mark is nearest I think. "Liar", unqualified, implies wilful and malicious deceit, and possibly a received insult to the intelligence. It also distinguishes direct authorship of the untruth - telling someone that what they have just told you is a lie isn't quite the same as calling them a liar.
I agree there's an emotive aspect to it though - telling somebody they are being of being disingenuous can be close to calling them a liar but might not even get a response.
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When I was a kid, "liar" was treated like a swear word and handled with great caution.
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>> When I was a kid, "liar" was treated like a swear word and handled with
>> great caution.
>>
Did it involve self combusting underwear?
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"Did it involve self combusting underwear?"
Yes - that's why I never said it.
Mind you it's different now - in, for example, 'Eastenders', it is uttered with venom every 5 minutes.
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Liar ! - No FM2R
