A trivial act of lying or being deliberately unclear.

synonym: paltering.

A trivial lie:
— He told a fib about eating his spinach.

synonyms: story, tale, taradiddle, tarradiddle.

Roget 546: untruth, falsehood, lie, story, thing that is not, fib, bounce, crammer, taradiddle^†, whopper; jhuth^†.    forgery, fabrication, invention; misstatement, misrepresentation; perversion, falsification, gloss, suggestio falsi [Lat.]; exaggeration etc. 549.    invention, fabrication, fiction; fable, nursery tale; romance etc. (imagination) 515; absurd story, untrue story, false story, trumped up story, trumped up statement; thing devised by the enemy; canard; shave, sell, hum, traveler's tale, Canterbury tale, cock and bull story, fairy tale, fake; claptrap.    press agent's yarn; puff, puffery (exaggeration) 549.    myth, moonshine, bosh, all my eye and Betty Martin, mare's nest, farce.    irony; half truth, white lie, pious fraud; mental reservation etc. (concealment) 528.    pretense, pretext; false plea etc. 617; subterfuge, evasion, shift, shuffle, make-believe; sham etc. (deception) 545.    profession, empty words; Judas kiss etc. (hypocrisy) 544; disguise etc. (mask) 530.    ... show more

Dutch: leugentje
Polish: bujda na resorach, bujda

Tell a relatively insignificant lie.

Roget 544: be false etc. adj., be a liar etc. 548; speak falsely etc. adv.; tell a lie etc. 546; lie, fib; lie like a trooper; swear false, forswear, perjure oneself, bear false witness.    misstate, misquote, miscite^†, misreport, misrepresent; belie, falsify, pervert, distort; put a false construction upon etc. (misinterpret); prevaricate, equivocate, quibble; palter, palter to the understanding; repondre en Normand [Fr.]; trim, shuffle, fence, mince the truth, beat about the bush, blow hot and cold, play fast and loose.    garble, gloss over, disguise, give a color to; give a gloss, put a gloss, put false coloring upon; color, varnish, cook, dress up, embroider; varnish right and puzzle wrong; exaggerate etc. 549; blague^†.    invent, fabricate; trump up, get up; force, fake, hatch, concoct; romance etc. (imagine) 515; cry 'wolf!'.    dissemble, dissimulate; feign, assume, put on, pretend, make believe; play possum; play false, play a double game; coquet; act a part, play a part; affect etc. 855; simulate, pass off for; counterfeit, sham, make a show of; malinger; say the grapes are sour.    cant, play the hypocrite, sham Abraham, faire pattes de velours, put on the mask, clean the outside of the platter, lie like a conjuror; hand out false colors, hold out false colors, sail under false colors; commend the poisoned chalice to the lips" [Macbeth]; ambiguas in vulgum spargere voces [Lat.]; deceive etc. 545.    ... show more

Roget 720: contend; contest, strive, struggle, scramble, wrestle; spar, square; exchange blows, exchange fisticuffs; fib^†, justle^†, tussle, tilt, box, stave, fence; skirmish; pickeer^†; fight etc. (war) 722; wrangle etc. (quarrel) 713.    contend with &c., grapple with, engage with, close with, buckle with, bandy with, try conclusions with, have a brush etc. n.. with, tilt with; encounter, fall foul of, pitch into, clapperclaw^†, run a tilt at; oppose etc. 708; reluct.    join issue, come to blows, go to loggerheads, set to, come to the scratch, exchange shots, measure swords, meet hand to hand; take up the cudgels, take up the glove, take up the gauntlet; enter the lists; couch one's lance; give satisfaction; appeal to arms; etc. (warfare) 722.    lay about one; break the peace.    compete with, cope with, vie with, race with; outvie^†, emulate, rival; run a race; contend for &c., stipulate for, stickle for; insist upon, make a point of.    ... show more