Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

I’m not gonna lie, I hate the phrase I’m not gonna lie

Post Thumbnail

I apologise if I describe you, your friends, or your relatives but I am becoming increasingly annoyed to be informed “I’m not gonna lie” when people start to speak.

Question: “Do you want a cup of tea?” Answer: “I’m not gonna lie, yes.”

It is entirely needless, a collection of words that mean nothing.

Why would you have to point out you are about to tell the truth? Does saying this signify that at other times you don’t tell the truth? Should anything you say that doesn’t have this phrase prefixed be regarded as factually suspect?

Is it an attempt to take the moral high ground? A claim of honesty in an otherwise dishonest world? I don’t think it is often used in such a meaningful way. It is more usually followed by a mundane statement: “I’m not gonna lie, I had two custard creams”.

It is so widespread it has become boring. Why use the same words that everyone else is using? Why not be an individual? Why not say something that shows your distinct personality, your vibrant vocabulary, the unique you. Otherwise, you sound like a drone, indistinguishable from the rest, another footsoldier marching in step with (what seems to me) half of the English-speaking world?

Indeed, I am bemused by the adoption of other people’s verbal habits. I try to never do this. It feels like wearing someone else’s clothes.

“I’m not gonna lie” is, of course, a crutch phrase to lean on. It is filler, a linguistic bad habit that has spread widely, infecting mostly the young.

We all use crutch words. Some say “honestly” (a close relative of “I’m not gonna lie”). Others pepper their speech with too many instances of: quite, really, actually, look, or basically.

There are many others – needlessly starting every sentence with “like” has always been particularly irksome. And have you noticed that people who say: “I’m not being funny, but . . .” rarely go on to say anything funny?

Sometimes a crutch is actually a gesture. Some people habitually shrug when they talk. Or adopt a distinct facial expression. Worst of all is an eye roll. I detest an eye roll!

I have a suggestion that would improve this “not gonna lie” phrase. It is simply to say nothing after it. If asked: “Does my bum look big in this”, answer: “I’m not gonna lie . . .” but don’t add any further words.

That is, I promise you, a powerful statement that doesn’t waste words. It is a statement of a thousand words without uttering any. Its eloquence is outshone only by its brevity.

It is, though, also highly inflammatory, may cause problems in your friendship or marriage, and might even result in a skelp. But at least you can feel that you have used language in a more meaningful way.

 


 

Word of the week

Degust (verb)

To taste something carefully to appreciate it fully. EG: “I don’t just drink a cup of tea, I degust it.”


Read the latest Oh my word! every Saturday in The Courier. Contact me at sfinan@dctmedia.co.uk