I grew up with ‘bald-faced lie’ being the term for a lie that’s plain. I think it evolved from ‘bare-faced lie’, which, like ‘bald-faced’ implies ‘uncovered’ or ‘plainly visible’. OTOH, ‘bold-faced’ implies blatancy. I read and hear ‘bold-faced’ more often than the other phrase.
So have I been using the wrong term all of my life?
The etymology is bare-faced -> bald-faced -> bold-faced.
Bald- and bold- are both considered acceptable, apparently.
There’s enough evidence to prove that none of the three ways can legitimately be called wrong, so say it how you want.
As an editor, I would change bold-faced to bald-faced, but I’d leave bare-faced. And this is a bold-faced truth.
Bare faced, bald faced, bold faced? Not enough choices. I’m going to start writing “bear faced lie” and see if it catches on.
There’s also the not-often-seen “bear-faced lie.” I don’t recommend disputing the veracity of a bear-faced liar. They can be easily peeved.
I’m going with bowl-faced. Let’s do this!
The less said about a ‘balled-face’ lie, the better.
Edit: But I said it anyway!
What about beer-faced lies? The ones you tell when you are drunk?
Or when someone says you have the manners of a pig? That’s a boar faced lie.
Wouldn’t those be “beer-laced fies”?
Then how about a “deer faced lie”, much more gentile.
Boner-faced lies are the most obvious of all.