First, recognize honest intent, whether expressed as the plain truth or a technical falsehood. Possibilities include:
- Metaphoric Truth: 'I am a child at heart', 'The Earth is our mother', 'All men are brothers' -- all are known falsehoods spoken without intent to deceive. My father is not my brother, and my mother does not weigh 6.5 hexillion tons, but no one would take such statements literally -- well, almost no one.
- Mistaken Metaphor: A metaphor, mistaken for the simple truth. Frequently done by The Ditz, the Literal Genie, and eavesdroppers, this is a standard comic device, and the spur for many a tragedy.
- Literal Metaphor: The simple truth, mistaken for a metaphor. Often a part of the Prophecy Twist.
- Awful Truth
- Beware the Honest Ones
- Blunt Yes
- Brutal Honesty
- Cassandra Truth
- Dreaming the Truth
- Heroic Vow
- I Gave My Word
- Lie Detector
- Prophecy Twist
- Villains Never Lie
- Will Not Tell a Lie