| 释义 |
economical with the truth
economical with the truthNot fully truthful; deceitful, often by manipulating language or omitting certain details I wouldn't trust him—everyone says he's economical with the truth. When I walked into a house full of teenagers, I knew that my kids had been economical with the truth when they said they'd only invite a few friends over.See also: economical, trutheconomical with the truthEuph. untruthful. The mayor was known to be economical with the truth. I discovered that my boss had been economical with the truth when she said that the company was making money.See also: economical, trutheconomical with the truth COMMON If someone is economical with the truth, they deceive people by not telling them the whole truth about something. In insisting that no changes had been made to the original plan, his team was being economical with the truth. She received a series of answers which were at best economical with the truth, at worst deliberately designed to deceive.See also: economical, trutheconomical with the truth used euphemistically to describe a person or statement that lies or deliberately withholds information. The phrase economy of truth was used in the 18th century by the orator Edmund Burke ( 1729–97 ), while in the 19th century Mark Twain observed ‘Truth is the most valuable thing we have. Let us economize it’ (Following the Equator, 1897 ). The present phrase became current after its use in the ‘Spycatcher’ trial in the New South Wales Supreme Court: Robert Armstrong , head of the British Civil Service, was reported as saying of a letter: ‘It contains a misleading impression, not a lie. It was being economical with the truth.’ 2003 Observer He is ruthless in pursuit of commercial goals, otherwise he would not have been so economical with the truth two months ago when he ruled out any notion of signing Beckham. See also: economical, trutheconomical with the ˈtruth a way of saying that somebody has left out some important facts, when you do not want to say that they are lying: After the trial he admitted that he had occasionally been economical with the truth.See also: economical, truth |