# You know they are lying... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 25, 2000, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-they-are-lying/20540 "2000-05-25T20:15:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Anti\_Pro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Anti\_Pro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anti_Pro)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2000, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-they-are-lying/20540/21 "2000-05-28T05:46:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > “wisdom is when you learn to NOT ask the question you really don’t want to know the answer to”. You may all quote me. 😃 > \*\* You may now consider yourself as having been quoted! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![dpr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8797f3/32.png) [@dpr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dpr)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2000, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-they-are-lying/20540/22 "2000-06-01T01:12:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > And our latest candidate to play the part of _The Bellman_: **Ozone**! > \*\* Tomndeb: Have you got a baker yet? _volunteers_ I knead the dough… Myron: I thought “How YOU doin’” was a pick-up line (but then again maybe I’ve been watching too much Friends). um… what was the OP again? Feel free to answer honestly… ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2000, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-they-are-lying/20540/23 "2000-06-01T04:23:37Z")
I have to disagree with the implication that “hows the fishing” usually gets answered with a lie. In my experience it is always answered truthful(at least to a fellow fisher), if not directly. If it is going well, the guy usually says something modest like “having some luck today” and pointing to a stringer full of 18 inch rainbows, and if its going badly then they tell you so, usually with a suggestion for where they think it might be better. Causual weekend fishing is one of those great pastimes, where nobody really does it to impress people so you can have a truthful and utterly pointless conversation for 30 minutes with a complete stranger. Personally I attribute the honesty of the sport to the fact that few women fish 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dpr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8797f3/32.png) [@dpr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dpr)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2000, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-they-are-lying/20540/24 "2000-06-01T05:31:36Z")
What about when you ask someone if they had a good time (particularly referring to a date). They won’t necessarily lie but they’ll always answer yes regardless of whether they did or not. Same category or new genre? * * * He came as a Baker: but owned, when too late– And it drove the poor Bellman half-mad– He could only bake Bridecake–for which, I may state, No materials were to be had. ---
**Author:** ![labdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5fc32e/32.png) [@labdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/labdude)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2000, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-they-are-lying/20540/25 "2000-06-01T16:15:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > Nine times out of ten, when I ask my Grandma, “How are you doing?”, she’ll give me a negative response and tell me exactly how badly she’s doing, listing her ailments. I feel sorry for her, but I wish sometimes she would just for once say, “I’m fine, how are you?” I know she’s going through a very hard time, though, so it’s okay if she doesn’t. > > \*\* here’s a hint. don’t ask your grandmaw “how are you doing?” She 90 years old and feels like crap most of the time. Instead make a positive statement like “Beautiful day today isn’t it?” or “Did you see all the wonderful birds flying around outside?” michael ---
**Author:** ![labdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5fc32e/32.png) [@labdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/labdude)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2000, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-they-are-lying/20540/26 "2000-06-02T01:27:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > Nine times out of ten, when I ask my Grandma, “How are you doing?”, she’ll give me a negative response and tell me exactly how badly she’s doing, listing her ailments. I feel sorry for her, but I wish sometimes she would just for once say, “I’m fine, how are you?” I know she’s going through a very hard time, though, so it’s okay if she doesn’t. > > \*\* here’s a hint. don’t ask your grandmaw “how are you doing?” She 90 years old and feels like crap most of the time. Instead make a positive statement like “Beautiful day today isn’t it?” or “Did you see all the wonderful birds flying around outside?” michael [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-know-they-are-lying/20540.md?page=1)