Politically Provoked Vocabulary

Our political climate of "untruths and misrepresentations"

In the US, our previous President lied every day, denied science, refused to listen to experts, contradicted his agency leaders, and simply spewed statements that he would have liked to be true. It was baffling to listen to. As he was the President, reporters kept referring to his lies as "mispresentations." Call a lie a lie, I say.

But perhaps we can have some fun here.

How many ways can you think of to say something is a lie, without using that word?

• Untruth - no disguise, that's a lie
• Misrepresentation - when you won't say "lie"
• Misstatement - when you want to excuse it, perhaps allow for correction or retraction
• Fabrication - a clear accusation
• Fiction - another clear accusation
• Fantasy - an accusation, but suggests the speaker has yet to study the facts
• Fib - another word for lie, but it sounds less significant

And when you think something is complete nonsense, what do you call it?

The classic term, of course, is bullshit. So classic that we all recognize it through the initials BS - spoken as the letters suggest, "bee ess". But even students realize that this is extremely rude, and can be used only privately, among family, friends and other trusted groups, unless one is making a bold statement of protest or is choosing to be offensive.

Equivalents of bullshit, barely disguised, quite old-fashioned but understood

• Horsefeathers
• Bullfeathers

Not obscene or objectionable - aside from the fact that you are essentially calling something BS

• Balderdash - quite strong, said with disgust or anger, possibly belongs above
• Malarkey - what your uncle might say
• Poppycock - what your aunt might say
• Hogwash

Unobjectionable - again, aside from questioning someone's truthfulness or knowledge!

• Nonsense
• Rubbish
• Gobbledygook

Some collocations

• Complete and utter nonsense
• Pure, unadulterated fiction (or fantasy)
• A load of rubbish
• A load of malarkey