# Being honest but misleading.... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 3, 2014, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-honest-but-misleading/687566 "2014-05-03T04:33:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-honest-but-misleading/687566/1 "2014-05-03T04:33:46Z")
In Breaking Bad season 2 episode 7, some guys are saying that Walt’s partner apparently killed a guy. They asked Walt if this was true. Walt replied “You didn’t hear it from me”. I thought that was clever - he was honest yet let them continue their mistaken belief because it was in Walt’s interests for them to believe that. Are there any other examples? ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-honest-but-misleading/687566/2 "2014-05-03T04:56:08Z")
> [@JohnClay](#): > > In Breaking Bad season 2 episode 7, some guys are saying that Walt’s partner apparently killed a guy. They asked Walt if this was true. Walt replied “You didn’t hear it from me”. I thought that was clever - he was honest yet let them continue their mistaken belief because it was in Walt’s interests for them to believe that. > > Are there any other examples? Any time Bush talked about Iraq. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-honest-but-misleading/687566/3 "2014-05-03T05:03:57Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > Any time Bush talked about Iraq. Wow, just right out of the gate with the political stuff, huh? “I have not yet been able to replicate your reported defect” = “I haven’t even bothered to try because your ‘defect’ is really an enhancement request and I’m too overworked to deal with you right now.” ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-honest-but-misleading/687566/4 "2014-05-03T05:17:46Z")
> [@Lord\_Ashtar](#): > > Wow, just right out of the gate with the political stuff, huh? That it’s political, and controversial, is incidental. It’s honestly the best example I can think of. “We know that al Qaeda has a presence in Iraq.” \ “We know of contacts between Saddam and Bin Laden that go back ten years.” \ Stuff like that. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-honest-but-misleading/687566/5 "2014-05-03T05:20:33Z")
You want something non-political? How about the job recommendation my old boss wrote for me: “You just can’t give Tony too much to do. I’ve never seen anyone else like him. You’ll be very lucky if you can get him to work for you.” ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-honest-but-misleading/687566/6 "2014-05-03T05:31:31Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > You want something non-political? How about the job recommendation my old boss wrote for me: > > “You just can’t give Tony too much to do. I’ve never seen anyone else like him. You’ll be very lucky if you can get him to work for you.” Bwahahahaha ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-honest-but-misleading/687566/7 "2014-05-03T05:34:24Z")
There was one on a recent episode of _Agents of Shield_. One of the agents was a traitor working for an enemy organization and he had been working as a mole inside Shield. He was sent back to kidnap another Shield agent who had information his organization wanted. He then unexpectedly got put to a lie detector test. When he was questioned about why he had returned, he answered “I came back for Skye.” His answer was technically true - he had come back to kidnap Skye. But he managed to evade suspicion because he implied that he was romantically interested in Skye. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-honest-but-misleading/687566/8 "2014-05-03T05:43:38Z")
A good one has been going around facebook. It compares the highest marginal tax rate in 1900 (3% I think) to 2013 and goes on about how much higher it is now than then. While that is true, it totally ignores numerous decades between then and now. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-honest-but-misleading/687566/9 "2014-05-03T05:56:19Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > A good one has been going around facebook. It compares the highest marginal tax rate in 1900 (3% I think) to 2013 and goes on about how much higher it is now than then. While that is true, it totally ignores numerous decades between then and now. It also ignores the fact that the constitutional amendment authorizing federal income tax wasn’t ratified until 1913. The highest marginal tax rate, which the Republicans say is killing jobs and growth, is now 39.6%, and as Warren Buffet among others have pointed out, with all the loopholes, most rich people pay less than half that. During the Eisenhower Administration, when the economy soared, the highest marginal rate was over 90%. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-honest-but-misleading/687566/10 "2014-05-03T05:59:21Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > It also ignores the fact that the constitutional amendment authorizing federal income tax wasn’t ratified until 1913. > > The highest marginal tax rate, which the Republicans say is killing jobs and growth, is now 39.6%, and as Warren Buffet among others have pointed out, with all the loopholes, most rich people pay less than half that. > > During the Eisenhower Administration, when the economy soared, the highest marginal rate was over 90%. Hmm, maybe it was 1913. Main point was it was misleading. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![staili](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c57346/32.png) [@staili](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/staili)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-honest-but-misleading/687566/11 "2014-05-03T15:13:29Z")
I work with someone who pulls this kind of stuff all the time. It’s infuriating because you have to keep asking questions to get at the real answer. A typical conversation is like this: Me: How often does this type of issue occur? This issue is a serious problem, so if it’s happening with any kind of frequency, it’s important that we try to figure out why. Him: Last year, it didn’t happen at all. Me: Well, how about this year? Him: I don’t know if this issue is really important. Me: How many times has this issue happened this year? Him: It’s not something that a lot of people complain about. Me: What is the actual number of times that this issue has occurred this year? Him: We really try our best to prevent this issue from occurring. (many, many honest but misleading answers) Him (finally): It happened yesterday. It drives me crazy. Meanwhile, when I bring it up to our boss, he says, “What are you talking about? The other guy told me it never happens.” Well, that’s not exactly what he actually said. . . ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-honest-but-misleading/687566/12 "2014-05-03T23:56:36Z")
Bill Clinton’s “There is not a sexual relationship, an improper sexual relationship or any other kind of improper relationship.” ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2014, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-honest-but-misleading/687566/13 "2014-05-04T00:26:12Z")
There’s always the classics. “A great victory will be won here today…” ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2014, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-honest-but-misleading/687566/14 "2014-05-04T01:19:37Z")
How could I possibly love/respect you any less? ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2014, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-honest-but-misleading/687566/15 "2014-05-04T01:51:56Z")
“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate X.” “Words cannot express my feelings about Y.” “This is truly the finest Z I have ever seen” when Z is rare/specific enough that it is the only one of its kind I have encountered. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2014, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-honest-but-misleading/687566/16 "2014-05-04T02:08:48Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > There’s always the classics. > > “A great victory will be won here today…” “If you cross the river, a great empire will be destroyed.” ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2014, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-honest-but-misleading/687566/17 "2014-05-04T03:30:12Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > How could I possibly love/respect you any less? There’s a Cursive song “I Couldn’t Love You”. Now are the lyrics: “I couldn’t love you anymore” or “I couldn’t love you any more”? How about very specific praise? “The Cubs are by far the finest baseball team from the North Side of Chicago.” ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2014, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-honest-but-misleading/687566/18 "2014-05-04T04:15:36Z")
Commonly seen in department store ads: “All prices slashed up to 50%, or more!” ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2014, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-honest-but-misleading/687566/19 "2014-05-04T04:51:09Z")
When I was looking for a job around the end of high school I asked a friend’s mother for a reference. She had known me for years and was a partner at a high power law firm, a rare thing for a woman at that time. The thing that she wrote was a masterpiece. It looked like a glowing reference but all couched in terms like, “I have never known **don’t ask** to be dishonest,” and “I am sure that **don’t ask** would like to be able to handle bigger challenges.” I wish I’d kept it because it did help me get jobs and my friends and I got a good laugh out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2014, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/being-honest-but-misleading/687566/20 "2014-05-04T05:34:16Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Commonly seen in department store ads: “All prices slashed up to 50%, or more!” Translation: “We have prices!”