Bad Liar: Difference between revisions
→NOT Newspaper Comics, These Are Editorials
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{{quote|"The <span style{{=}}"font-variant:small-caps;">Enrichment Center</span> is required to remind you that <span style{{=}}"font-variant:small-caps;">[[Kill It with Fire|you will be baked]],</span> ''[[Distracted By the Shiny|and then]] [[The Cake Is a Lie|there will be]] <span style{{=}}"font-variant:small-caps;">[[I Was Told There Would Be Cake|cake]]''.</span>"
|'''GLaDOS'''|''[[Portal (series)|Portal]]''}}
This page, [[I Have This Friend|if it were about]] '''Bad Liar'''s, would say that sometimes, but never for comedic effect, a character is unable to lie in a convincing way and comes up with really silly lies that fool no one. It would not point out that children are especially prone to it, because once they get over [[Children Are Innocent|their innocent]] [[Can Not Tell a Lie|inability]] they have little practice. It would not talk about physical tics that give away liars either. And it would ''especially'' never say that this is a reason why [[Keeping Secrets Sucks]], because keeping secrets is cool. But this page ''isn't'' about Bad Liars, so it won't. Seriously.
This page is not related to [[Hurricane of Excuses]] or [[Suspiciously Specific Denial]]. Honest. And [[Inflationary Dialogue]] is definitely not a specific form of it. And examples of this trope are ''never'' confused with [[Refuge in Audacity]], so you never, ever have to worry about mistaking one for the other.
Actually this is [[Consummate Liar]]. [[Saturday Night Live|Yeah, yeah. That's the ticket.]]
[[Can Not Tell a Lie|
Below are not examples of [[Bad Liar]]. They are oatmeal raisin peanut-butter cookie pizzas.
{{examples|These are not examples:}}
== Totally Not [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* In ''[[Full Metal Panic!]]'', Sōsuke is a ''lousy'' liar. Every time he tries to lie to the other students at school about how he's [[Most Definitely Not a Villain|A PERFECTLY NORMAL BOY WHO LOVES DOING NORMAL, BORING SCHOOL STUDENT THINGS]] [[Suspiciously Specific Denial|AND HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE ARMY]], they're hardly ever shown to be convinced. ''And'' he fails at lying when it goes the other way and tries to convince them that he's actually a big, bad inhuman terrorist that's unreasonable and will kill anyone. Interestingly enough, however, when he's lying to a corrupt policeman who's actually ''trained'' in interrogating people, he actually manages to convince him about his phony background story (wanting to fight in the Yami Battle for money and power, and also to buy back a prostitute in Tokyo).
* ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' Negi Springfield is a terrible liar. His [[Suspiciously Specific Denial]] in the Kyoto arc didn't fool anybody, and Chisame commented on it in the [[School Festival]] arc. Chachamaru is also incredibly bad at lying when trying to evade answering a question.
* Usopp of ''[[One Piece]]''. [[Sarcasm Mode|Yeah sure, you command 80 million men, "Captain"]]. Of course, he tends to ping-pong between this and [[Consummate Liar]], depending on the [[Rule of Funny]] and [[Rule of Cool]].
** Also Luffy, who has absolutely zero ability for deception.
*** And let us not forget why Sanji wanted to eat the devil fruit that grants invisibility.
{{quote|
* Nagi of ''[[
* ''[[
* ''[[
* Celty from ''[[Durarara!!]]'' manages to be this ''without being able to speak''.
** Without being able to ''speak''? How 'bout {{spoiler|'''''without even having a head, much less a mouth'''''?}} [[Crowning Moment
* In ''[[
** Also, Haruhi herself generally manages to be a pretty terrible liar, especially when it involves things relating to her feelings for Kyon. Luckily (or perhaps unluckily, depending on the way you look at it) for her, they either [[Oblivious to Love|pass right over his head]] or he is very, very good at [[Selective Obliviousness|turning a blind eye.]]
* Elsie in ''[[The World God Only Knows]]'' is the [[Trope Namer]] for the [[Wild Card Excuse]], and makes so many [[Suspiciously Specific Denial
* Gohan of [[
== Most Certainly ''Not'' [[Fan Works]] ==
* Elspeth of ''[[Luminosity]]'' is an interesting example: a part of her power is that when she tells the truth, anyone she's talking to knows absolutely that that is the truth. Because she lacks the not-quite-[[Required Secondary Powers]], this makes it glaringly obvious when she's lying because the heavens ''don't'' part to sing that this is true.
* In ''[[Oh God, Not Again|Oh God Not Again]]'', Ginny is specifically portrayed as being this. When Ron wonders where Ginny got the extra money she was spending on school supplies (which she got from her cut of a completely inaccurate book by Lockhart), she freaks out and [[Suspiciously Specific Denial|demands to know if he's implying she stole it]]. Harry thinks to himself that the Weasleys were raised to be honest.
* In ''[[The Man with No Name (fanfic)|The Man With No Name]]'', the (10th) Doctor laments his inability to lie convincingly in this regeneration several times.
* [[Dragon Ball Abridged]]; Vegeta, on the Dragon Radar.
{{quote|
'''Gohan:''' Yes, it tells time...and nothing else.
'''Vegeta:''' That's what a watch does. Dumbass. }}
* Socrates in ''[[
*
== No Chance This Could Be the [[Film]] Section ==
* In the teaser trailer for ''[[Arthur Christmas]]'', an elf found in the North Pole by a wildlife documentary filmmaker goes into detail about every single thing that happens in the trailer while saying that they're not, such as how he's "not" an elf, the man in the sweater who pops up and calls Santa his dad is "not" the son of Santa Claus, and that the North Pole is "not" a place where Santa makes test flights so that he can deliver toys to millions of children around the world ''while a giant red flying saucer that serves as Santa's sleigh flies right over them'', Also saying that there is ''no '' movie.
* Jimmy Durante in a scene in ''Jumbo'' attempts to sneak his beloved elephant Jumbo off the circus grounds, only to be confronted by a sheriff, who demands: "Where you going with that elephant?" Caught red-handed, [[Refuge in Audacity|Durante blithely replies "What elephant?"]]
** There's another Jimmy Durante movie in which he's guarding the dressing room of the beautiful young singer played by Kathryn Grayson from a pushy fan. "She's got twelve kids and I'm the youngest!"
* From the movie ''[[The Princess Bride (
{{quote|
'''Inigo Montoya:''' Sixty-five.
'''Miracle Max:''' I've never worked for so little. Except once, and that was a very noble cause.
'''Inigo Montoya:''' This is noble, sir. His wife is... crippled. His children are on the brink of starvation.
'''Miracle Max:''' Are ''you'' a rotten liar.
'''Inigo Montoya:''' I need him to help avenge my father, murdered these twenty years.
'''Miracle Max:''' Your first story was better. }}
** The last two lines are either an inversion, in that Miracle Max thinks he's lying when he's not, or it's simply that Miracle Max is less pleased by the real story than he was by the lie.
Line 68 ⟶ 62:
** The titular sorcerer actually says this is a good thing, as good wizards are supposed to be truthful. This doesn't stop him from lying, although he's not that great at it either (sake is not Chinese).
* In ''[[A Guide For The Married Man]]'', Robert Morse is instructing Walter Matthau how to successfully cheat on his wife. A series of vignettes are used to illustrate different points. One directive concerns what you do if you are caught: Deny, deny deny!. The vignette is a man (Joey Bishop) who is caught in his own bedroom by his wife (Ann Morgan Guilbert). She keeps asking him what he's doing?, what's going on?, who's that woman? He keeps answering with denials: Nothing. I don't know what you mean. What woman? All the while, the woman is getting dressed, and eventually leaves, he makes the bed and straightens out the bedroom, and finally goes to his favorite chair, lights his pipe and picks up the newspaper. When he's all done, there's no indication that anything out of the ordinary ever happened. She eventually is so disconcerted that she simply asks him what he wants for dinner.
* In ''[[Star Trek: First Contact]]'', Data is... simply... imitating the behavior of humans when he gets his new arm of flesh slashed during an escape attempt from the Borg Queen's clutches. Queenie then tells him that he has now learned how to lie. Data's fortunately a very quick learner and outgrows being a Bad Liar to pull off the ultimate fakeout on the Queen later in the movie.
== This Really isn't the [[Literature]] section. ==
* ''[[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]]''. As Snape said, he "has a tendency to wear his heart on his sleeve." He gets better, though. Naturally, the fact that Snape is an accomplished legilimen (telepath) ''does not help'' in this instance.
* In the ''[[Master and Commander]]'' series, Stephen Maturin ponders Sophie Williams' talent for prevarication.
{{quote|
** Sophie Williams is Jack Aubrey's fiancée at this point.
** Preserved Killick is the name of Jack Aubrey's servant. Really.
* Terry Brooks' ''[[Magic Kingdom of Landover]]'' series had the gnomes that were incredibly bad liars.
* ''[[Discworld]]'':
** The setting has a tribe of people [[Planet of Hats|who are all Bad Liars]]. People with the gift for lying are considered very valuable in this tribe; [[Does This Remind You of Anything?|they are elected at various government and diplomacy positions and wear the glorious title of Liars]].
** In ''[[Jingo]]'', Sergeant Colon and Captain Carrot are both really bad at going undercover. In fact, Carrot is such a bad liar in ''Jingo'' that he can't even convincingly keep quiet when someone else is lying. During a briefing at the palace, the Patrician sends him out of the room because watching him twitch every time Commander Vimes opens his mouth is disconcerting.
* ''[[Animorphs]]'': When called upon to make up a phone number, Cassie comes up with "12345678". Marco, who has no problem making up anything ever, chastises her ASAP.
{{quote|'''Marco:''' Eight? You gave him eight numbers? Remind me never to be a spy with you.}}
** Ax at one point is convinced to take the blame for giving humans the morphing technology to spare his brother the shame, but fails to think up a decent lie about it. When his superiors later ask how he met the Animorphs he replies with the truth: They rescued him from his ship at the bottom of the ocean...using technology he supposedly gave them. No one buys it.
* ''[[Huckleberry Finn]]'': Huck is occasionally brilliant at spinning yarns to get what he wants. More often, however, he forgets his fake identity, where he's supposedly from, and what he claimed his job was. [[Hilarity Ensues]].
* ''[[
* ''[[Billy Bunter]]''. "I say, keep that beast Coker off! I wasn't in his study when he found me there, the suspicious beast! I wasn't after his cake! There wasn't any cake, and I never touched it, and I had hardly a mouthful when the brute came in! I say, you fellows -- ow! Oh crikey!"
* In [[Rudyard Kipling]]'s ''Danny Deever''
{{quote|
''"It's bitter cold, it's bitter cold", the Colour-Sergeant said.
''"What makes that front-rank man fall down?" said Files-on-Parade.
''"A touch o' sun, a touch o' sun", the Colour-Sergeant said.'' }}
* Christine in ''[[The Phantom of the Opera]]'', which makes it impossible for her to convince Raoul and her [[Parental Substitute|adopted mother]] that she is not in any danger from her stalker, and later makes it impossible for her to hide from Erik the fact that Raoul and the Persian are inside his house.
* The protagonist of ''[[
* [[King Incognito|Alek]] from ''[[Leviathan]]''. Literally ''every time he opens his mouth'' to try and tell a lie, he effs up. It doesn't really help that the people he tries to lie to are ''really'' sharp.
* Michael from the ''[[Knight and Rogue Series]]'' doesn't like to lie, but when he gets into a situation where he's really got no other options, or if he's trying to spare someone's feelings, he'll give it a shot. Since he's so rotten at it though, it makes no difference. However, in a ''really'' desperate situation he can convincingly lie, and because he's known to be so bad at lying no one doubts him in the slightest.
* Laszlo Scott from ''[[The Butterfly Kid]]''. Not so much because of poor imagination or lack of skill, but because he tells ''so'' many lies he can't remember who he told which lie to. Chester (the book's first-person narrator) calls this his "greatest personal weakness".
== [[Live-Action TV]]? No, this is dead... inaction... VT. ==
* In the ''[[Red Dwarf]]'' episode where they visit the alternative reality, Holly is seen covered in lipstick after meeting Hilly. When asked "What is that lipstick on your face?", his reply is "What face?"
** And in a different episode, Lister has to teach Kryton how to lie.
** In the episode "Out of Time", Kryten learns what will happen to the crew in the future. He is upset that Lister {{spoiler|is destined to become a brain in a jar}}, but can't tell him anything about it. He starts to cry in the kitchen when Lister comes in:
{{quote|
'''Kryten:''' Oh, yup yup. Those darn onions get you every time!
'''Lister:''' What onions?
'''Kryten:''' Ah, the onions I'm about to peel. I always get a little emotional when I have to deprive an onion of its skin.
'''Lister:''' Don't Nixon me, man! Tell me the truth! }}
* Joey on ''[[Friends]]'':
{{quote|
'''Joey:''' I do not.
'''Phoebe:''' Oh really. OK, let me ask you something. Yesterday at the coffee house, I went to the bathroom and when I came back, my muffin was gone. Who took it?
'''Joey:''' Somebody opened the door to the coffee house and a raccoon came running in, went straight for your muffin, and I said, "Hey don't eat that! That's Phoebe's," and [[Fridge Logic|he said]]... He said... "Joey, you stink at lying." What am I going to do? }}
** Also in ''[[Friends]]'', when Rachel was keeping her pregnancy secret. In the Season 7 finale, the audience wasn't supposed to realize Rachel was pregnant until the very last minute, so she lied incredibly well, even in spur of the moment situations. But then in the Season 8 premiere, when the audience ''does'' know Rachel's pregnant, her lying skills go straight down the toilet and the secret is out in no time.
* Hurley on ''[[
** Often with [[Hilarity Ensues|hilarious results.]]
* An odd [[Reality Television]] example is Zoe Zanidakis from the fourth season of ''[[Survivor]]''. When Kathy asks her if she's going to vote Kathy out, Zoe pauses for over ten seconds. Then she says no. Oops.
* Ned in ''[[Pushing Daisies]]''. When asked how he worked out that the [[Victim of the Week]]'s plane was hijacked just from looking at his body (when what he actually did was resurrect the victim and talk to him), he said "DNA...ish?" In another episode, he and his cohorts pretended to have been sent by the Vatican, and when a nun said that she thought they'd be Italian, his response was "We are. Part time."
* In the ''[[Firefly (TV series)|Firefly]]'' episode "Jaynestown" Simon has to pose as a buyer of mud. Luckily for him, the foreman has not one grain of paranoia in him, as he's very, very unconvincing. This elicits the remark by a crewmember: "Who is this diabolical master of disguise?"
** In the movie ''[[
*** Plus, he had time to prepare before infiltrating the Academy. Mal designated him as their buyer cover about five minutes before he had to perform. Simon does not do that well on the spot, but give him prep time, and he's pretty gorram amazing.
*** Perhaps because he's never thought of buying mud, and has little to no idea what is done with it, while he's very good at the medical jargon used at the Academy.
** In the episode "Ariel", Jayne tries to convince the hospital authorities that he's an ambulance driver. After a heap of coaching, he answers the question even though it's never asked.
* ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' had Tommy Flanagan (Jon Lovitz) and his wife, Morgan Fairchild... ''whom'' he's slept with. [[Catch Phrase|Yeah, that's the ticket.]]
* A perennial flaw of the [[Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist]]. Basil Fawlty of ''[[Fawlty Towers]]'' and [[Father Ted]] are two major examples. In their case it's to get out of trying situations, only the explanations become so convoluted, bizarre and obviously fake, they needn't have bothered.
* Rene in ''[['Allo 'Allo
* ''[[
{{quote|
** Buffy has this problem in other episodes. Example, from "Lie to Me":
{{quote|
'''Ford:''' Oh. I thought you were just slaying a vampire.
'''Buffy:''' What? Whating a what? }}
** And then there's Anya trying really hard to convince the Watchers' Council that there isn't anything demonic in her origin, no sir.
** Early on, Willow got this role before basically passing it on to Anya.
** Also, when Faith tries to frame Buffy to Giles for something she did (can't remember what), Giles only pretends to be mad at Buffy until Faith leaves, at which point he reveals he knew Faith did it, since lying isn't one of her strong points.
* Over on ''[[
* Normally, Dean Winchester of ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' is an excellent liar. He impersonates FBI agents, police officers, park rangers, what have you. But when Dean contracts a Ghost Virus, and becomes a complete and total coward, he also turns into the worst liar north of Mexico.
{{quote|
'''Sam:''' Of course. ''(Garland looks their ID's over)''
'''Dean:''' ''(nervously)'' Those are real. Obviously. [[Suspiciously Specific Denial|I mean, who would pretend to be an FBI agent?]] That's just nutty! }}
* The title character of ''[[
* In ''[[
* In ''[[
* ''[[Chuck]]'' combines this with [[Nonverbal Miscommunication]]. Awesome is trying to explain to Ellie where he's been all day; Chuck tries to help him by miming behind Ellie's back, which results in a story about Awesome decapitating a bear he encountered in the park. Chuck has to step in with a more plausible lie.
** Awesome can't really lie to Ellie, but he has no problem lying to other people, even Chuck.
Line 146 ⟶ 140:
** Not really. More often that not, his lies are believed, with disastrous results - Chrissie when he claims to have a wooden leg, Wilma when he tells her that his girlfriend is dead (though she's not totally convinced until she sees Julia unconscious in his flat). Steve and Sally are a better fit for this one, such as when they're both seen demonstrating the symptoms of a lie being exposed that Jeff describes to them - [[Oh Crap|the prickles]], [[Motor Mouth|the blurts]] and the [[Annoying Laugh|head-laugh]].
** Patrick as well, best demonstrated when he accidentally lets slip to Steve that he slept with Jane, then tries to deny it.
{{quote|
'''Patrick''': Course I can. ''Damnit!''
'''Steve''': Look, when did this happen?
'''Patrick''': What, the lying or the sleeping with Jane? ''Damnit!!'' }}
* Some of the suspects on ''[[Lie to Me (TV series)|Lie to Me]]'' are painfully terrible liars.
* Alan Tudyk's character from ''[[Dollhouse]]'':
{{quote|
** {{spoiler|Then it turned out that whole thing was an elaborate ruse and the character was actually a [[Consummate Liar]] the whole time.}}
* The customs sketch from ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'':
{{quote|
'''Man:''' Yes... no! No! No! No! Nothing to declare, no, nothing in my suitcase no...
'''Officer:''' No watches, cameras, radio sets?
'''Man:''' Oh yes... four watches... no, no, no. No. One... one watch... No, no. Not even one watch. No, no watches at all. No, no watches at all. No... [[Suspiciously Specific Denial|precision watches]], no. }}
** This reaches its logical conclusion when the man finally confesses to watch smuggling, only to have the Customs Officer not believe his confession because he's such a terrible liar.
*** Perhaps the customs agent is just bad at his job; after all, he lets the obvious smuggler (from Zurich, ''Spain'') through, but immediately tosses a collared priest into a side chamber for a strip search.
* Robin from ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]'' giggles whenever she lies.
* Spencer from ''[[
* ''[[
* ''[[Sonny With a Chance]]'': Sonny is a terrible liar. When she lies, her voice usually goes up an octave, and she stammers. The stammering tendency is shared by {{spoiler|her boyfriend}} Chad. Seriously, the cast of So Random must be pretty gullible to {{spoiler|fall for the multitude of excuses that Sonny and Chad come up with to hide the fact that they're planning to go on a date. By the time they're all in the limo and have Sonny and Chad cornered, they're either turning a blind eye to get free food, or they are seriously the most gullible people ever to be on television.}}
* It is something of a [[Running Gag]] that [[Lee Mack]] is this on ''[[Would I Lie to You?]]''
{{quote|
'''Rob Brydon''': What was the inspiration for this?
'''Lee''': I read it in a book.
'''Rob''': Which book was that?
'''Lee''': The book of... dieting... }}
** Another example:
{{quote|
'''Lee''':Steve was... [He looks at Steve, who is clearly much younger than him] he was... he was... [long hesitation] He wasn't born... }}
* Sheldon Cooper on ''[[
* ''[[Due South]]'': Benton Fraser is a ''really'' bad liar:
{{quote|
''Fraser'': I'm sorry to interrupt your evening, Ma'm, but I thought it prudent to inform you that there's been an emergency.
''Thatcher'': What sort of emergency?
''Fraser'': With your car. It's... [''looking around quickly, then noticing the candle on the table''] on fire.
''Cloutier'': What?
''Fraser'': No, it is. It's burning away. All the other cars feel threatened.
''Cloutier'': Oh, please! You're making that up!
''Fraser'': Well...[''hangs his head''] yes. }}
* In the ''[[
{{quote|
'''J.D.''': Since one forty-two yesterday afternoon. His wife didn't want him to do it. She's beautiful, by the way; [[Boat Lights|one blue eye, one green eye]]. She's from Luxemburg. They're both from Luxemburg. They're Luxem ... burgian.
'''Dr Cox''': Where in Luxemburg? [[I Am One of Those, Too|I spent two weeks there]].
'''J.D.''': ([[Internal Monologue]]): What are the odds? Just stay vague.
'''J.D.''': Outside Mertert, near the German border. They say what they miss most are those lazy summer afternoons on the Mouselle River. }}
* The title character on ''[[Miranda]]''. The always single and childless woman once tried to get out of one of her mother's setup by claiming to have a sick daughter.
* The characters on ''[[Being Human (
* In some early episodes of ''[[
* In an episode of ''[[Stark Raving Mad]]'' it's revealed that lying makes Henry so nervous that he starts speaking in a Daffy Duck-esque voice. Ian helps him prepare for a situation where he has to lie by drawing on Henry's experience as an actor in college: by rehearsing lies before hand, Henry can then lie convincingly (albeit in a somewhat hammy fashion).
* Leslie Knope of ''[[
* On Season 18 of ''[[The Amazing Race]]'', the penultimate leg had Flight Time & Big Easy and Zev & Justin find a flight that would put them in Brazil half a day in front of Kisha & Jen and Gary & Mallory, but when Mallory asked the Globetrotters if they had found a better flight, Flight Time's horrible lie all but gave away that they had, and all four teams got on the same flight, resulting in {{spoiler|Zev & Justin getting eliminated when they struggled on the leg}}.
* Maxwell Smart. A [[Running Gag]] on ''[[Get Smart]]'' went like this:
{{quote|'''Smart:''' ''[makes an impressive sounding, but very absurd claim]'' Can you believe that? ''[makes claim again]''
'''Listener:''' I find that hard to believe.
'''Smart:''' Would you believe ''[makes a less impressive, but still absurd claim]''?
'''Listener:''' No.
'''Smart:''' How about ''[makes a claim that sounds pathetic]''?}}
== Rad- Literature! Film! Not [[Radio]]! At All! ==
* Arthur in ''[[Cabin Pressure]]'' goes a funny colour and falls over when he lies. Even when he's sitting down. See, for instance, this dialogue with one Douglas Richardson.
{{quote|'''Douglas:''' Answer this question with a lie. What's your name?
'''Arthur:''' Arth...nold...man...er...cat...sir...man.
'''Douglas:''' Arthnoldmanercatsirman... That's an unusual name. Tell me, is it made up?
'''Arthur:''' Yes, it is. Augh!
'''Douglas''': You see, that's the sort of trick question you want to watch for. I'll tell you a secret: the way to lie convincingly is never make something up, just tell a different truth. So, if you have to lie about where you were today, tell them where you really were last week. If you have to give a false name, use a real name you already know. Try again. What's your name?
'''Arthur:''' Douglas Richardson!
'''Douglas:''' Better. But not quite perfect. }}
** Needless to say, the advice about telling where you were last week isn't exactly put to good use either.
* In ''[[Hello Cheeky]]'', John occassionally suffered this trope, usually while trying to conceal something he had just said about his affair with Barry's wife.
{{quote|
== ''NOT'' [[Newspaper Comics]], These Are Editorials ==
* [[Calvin and Hobbes]] is full of bad liars:
** Calvin himself. Even when you consider that he is a child, his lies can be pretty absurd. Trying to blame Hobbes every time he does something bad is a common one (whether Hobbes is simply his imaginary friend or not is debatable, but everyone else sees him as a stuffed toy), but there are lots of others. Really, the only thing sillier than his lies is that he actually expects anyone to believe them.
** Susie fit the Trope too. When Calvin decides to cheat on a math test by asking Susie for answers, and when she tells him 12 + 7 is "a billion," even the math-impaired Calvin senses something is up: "That's what she said 3 + 4 was."
** His dad can be pretty bad too, although he can usually fool Calvin. One example:
{{quote|'''Calvin:''' Dad, were there dinosaurs when you were a kid?
'''Dad:''' Oh sure! Your grandfather and I used to put on our leopard skins and hunt brontosaurus for all the clan rituals.
'''Mom''' ''(after Calvin has left)'': Listen, buster, I think Calvin's grades are bad enough, don't you?}}
:* The nighttime monsters that live under his bed are lousy liars. Every time he shouts out something like "Any monsters under there?" he's sure to get several replies of "Nope!" or the like. Even Calvin is smart enough not to fall for that.
== [[Tabletop
* The "Easy to Read" disadvantage causes this in ''[[
* In ''[[Deadlands]]'', the "Lyin' Eyes" disadvantage represents this.
== These aren't [[Video Games]], these are... uh... Reality Games... yeah. ==
* ''[[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon]]'': Chatot, and he really doesn't like it when the other Guild members lampshade it.
* ''[[Iji]]'' blatantly stutters when she lies. Fortunately, it matters little when talking to aliens.
* ''[[Portal (series)|Portal]]'': [[GLaDOS]] is a habitual liar but her habit of mentioning the truth or creating blatantly obvious fabrications on the fly are readily apparent to the audience.
** In the second game, {{spoiler|Wheatley}} isn't exactly good at this either. For instance, trying to "hack" the neurotoxin control system: "Hello Guv'. Neurotoxin inspector, need to shut this place down for a moment. Here's my credentials; shut yourself down. I am totally legit, from the board of neurotoxin, uh, observers, from the United Arab Emirates."
* ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]]'': Bastila Shan has a problem with her mouth moving when she thinks, but only when talking to a male player character.
* ''[[Rune Factory 3]]'''s Sofia's lies are made quite obvious as her dialogue will be printed [[Rainbow Speak|in red]] to indicate that she actually means the opposite. This is solely for the player's benefit, as the other characters lack the [[Medium Awareness]] to see it.
* These crop up a lot during the opening levels of [[
* Frank Sawhit in ''Phoenix Wright: [[
** {{spoiler|He somehow manages to be [[Up to Eleven|even WORSE]] when he appears in prison in Investigations 2, though.}}
* The [[
** Its funny because ribs DO grow back
* From ''[[Battletoads]]'' (2020 version); in a cutscene, the heroes seem to abandon the Dark Queen and renege on their deal, leaving her at the Guardian’s mercy. Naturally, she is furious at them, shaking her fist (and using her hand [[Flipping the Bird|in a way that does not involve a fist]]) calling them (among other things) “stinky wimps”. Then they come back for her, having left her behind by accident:
{{quote|'''Zits:''' Heya, Queen, correct me if I’m wrong, did I hear you scream that we stink?
'''Dark Queen:''' What? No! I was talking about the Cattletoads! Like you guys, but cattle, ''they'' stink!}}
== I swear these aren't [[Web Comics]]. ==
* ''[[Brawl in
* Thief, Red Mage, and Black Mage from ''[[
* In ''[[
** [http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=211 Sometimes?] Honestly, she's just not very good at making things up. She also fails at [http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=180 coming up with] a [[Bond One-Liner]].
* ''[[Chainsawsuit]]'': [http://chainsawsuit.com/2008/11/19/strip-110/ Roger the Bad Liar].
* ''[[Something
{{quote|
'''Anna:''' I'm impressed. Somehow I thought you'd be a better liar.
'''Jason:''' I'm not used to having to lie to a woman I didn't wake up next to. }}
* Elliot of ''[[
* ''[[
{{quote|
* In ''[[Kaspall]]'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20110305022731/http://kaspall.xepher.net/archive/pg288.html Avril Isaac] is [https://web.archive.org/web/20110305022759/http://kaspall.xepher.net/archive/pg289.html impressively incapable of keeping a story straight.]
== [[Web Animation]] really doesn't belong in here. ==
* In ''[[Red vs. Blue]]: Out of Mind'', this is one of the things that tips the audience off to [[Mauve Shirt|Freelancer New York's]] [[Nice Guy]] status.
==
* Light in the original [[Death Note Abridged]] by TioH and Dargonakis. to the point where he blurts out the fact that he's Kira to his father. His father being [[Cloudcuckoolander|the way he is]] promptly forgets about it.
* [[Rhett and Link|Link]] wanted some time alone, so he lied repeatedly to Rhett in Ultimate Caption Fail 2.
* [[
* [[
* Jay from ''[[Marble Hornets]]'', who at one point gives the same person ''three'' different contradicting stories as to why he's staying in a hotel and carrying a camera everywhere he goes.
* Dr. Bright from the ''[[SCP Foundation]]''; it's gotten to the point that using [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB-pQX7JOc4 "it was an accident" as an excuse] is on the [[Long List]] of things he is not allowed to do.
== This is ''not'' where you'll find [[Western Animation]]. Seriously. IF YOU READ THIS YOU DIE! YOUR ACCOUNT GETS DELETED! YOU GET A VIRUS! SOMETHING ELSE UNPLEASURABLE! ==
* Sokka in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]''; when caught hatching a plan to escape from [[The Alcatraz|The Boiling Rock]], he responds that the only thing they were hatching was "... an egg?"
** Zuko is also a pretty bad liar (Azula must have gotten all the lying prowess in the family). In "The Southern Air Temple", Zhao sees right through his clumsy story:
{{quote|'''Zhao:''' ''(looking at Zuko's ship)'' That's quite a bit of damage.
'''Zuko:''' Yes. You wouldn't believe what happened. Uncle! Tell Commander Zhao what happened!
'''Iroh:''' It was incredible!... what, did we crash or something?
'''Zuko:''' ''(looking WAY too innocent)'' Yes! Right into... an Earth Kingdom ship. }}
** According to the 'Avatar Extras' (Popups that give tidbits of trivia during a set of reruns) Zuko and Iroh have many talents...lying isn't one of them.
* ''[[
{{quote|
* ''[[
{{quote|
* ''[[
{{quote|
'''Brian:''' They are -- I'm-I'm washing them in some fabric softener because last night they were so itchy I couldn't sleep which is why I was downstairs when you asked me if everything was okay... You know, 'cause it was so itchy. }}
** In the episode "Trump Guy", Sarah Huckabee Sanders tells the press, "I haven't had the chance to ask [[Donald Trump| the President]] if he is fighting with Peter Griffen." Said fight is actually occurring ''right behind her'' as she says it.
* Liar Starscream (whom [[Word of God]] definitely hasn't named Ramjet...) from ''[[Transformers Animated]]'' [[Blatant Lies|never speaks a word other than the truth. Everything he says most certainly does not sound like a lie.]] [http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Ramjet_(Animated) This page] at the [[Transformers]] Wiki is not about him, and does not make his lying (which he never does BTW) [[Self-Demonstrating Article|really, really obvious.]]
** Ironically this means he really can't
* ''[[
{{quote|
'''Brak:''' Okay, where's he stay at?
'''Franklin:''' At the bottom of the stairs; you can't miss it. However, if you do, you'll fall through the trapdoor and die.
'''Dad:''' You have a trapdoor?
'''Franklin:''' Of course not.
'''Dad:''' But you just--
'''Franklin:''' No I didn't. }}
* Phineas from ''[[
* The titular [[The Venture Brothers|Venture Brothers]] are a prime example.
{{quote|
'''Dean:''' Mmmmmmaybe... }}
* Beezy on ''[[Jimmy Two
* Applejack from ''[[My Little Pony:
** And when she's actually speaking, she blurts it out in a manner that makes it look like she's the dumbest pony alive-both in facial expression and [[Cloudcuckoolander|content]]. She gets better at it in the next episode, at which point it's resolved.
* Artemis in ''[[Young Justice (
* In ''[[She-Ra and the Princesses of Power]]'', Adora’s attempt to infiltrate an enemy stronghold by [[Dressing as the Enemy]] is quickly aborted, as she has no poker face whatsoever. Netossa later claims this is Adora’s inability to bluff a foe is her [[Weaksauce Weakness]].
* From ''[[G.I. Joe|G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero]]''; Destro is [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OC08RBiRhmM a ''really'' bad liar]. Right, she had something in her eye, sure...
----
This is not the end of the page; this is the, uhhhh, beginning. [[And the Adventure Continues...|Yeah, the beginning - that's right, the beginning.]]
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[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Youngsters]]
[[Category:Comedy Tropes]]
[[Category:Character Flaw Index]]
[[Category:Truth and Lies]]
[[Category:Self
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