|
|
Economical with the truthMeaningConveying an untrue version of events by leaving out the important facts. A euphemism for lying, in short. OriginRecorded from the 18th century, although rarely used. It was brought into the contemporary language by the UK Cabinet Secretary, Sir Robert Armstrong, who used the phrase during the Australian 'Spycatcher' trial in 1986.
What Armstrong left out (perhaps he knew but was being economical) was that the 'one person' was Edmund Burke. In 1796 Burke wrote:
In 1992, Alan Clark was cross-examined during the Matrix Churchill case and embroidered the phrase a little:
Phrasefinder is also on
Tudor Phrases and Sayings - a book on the meanings and origins of the phrases and sayings that Shakespeare and Henry VIII used that we use still use every day. |
