An unimportant lie (especially one told to be tactful or polite).

Roget 702: cunning, craft; cunningness^†, craftiness etc. adj.; subtlety, artificiality; maneuvering etc. v.; temporization; circumvention.    chicane, chicanery; sharp practice, knavery, jugglery^†; concealment etc. 528; guile, doubling, duplicity etc. (falsehood) 544; foul play.    diplomacy, politics; Machiavelism; jobbery, backstairs influence.    art, artifice; device, machination; plot etc. (plan) 626; maneuver, stratagem, dodge, sidestep, artful dodge, wile; trick, trickery etc. (deception) 545; ruse, ruse de guerre [Fr.]; finesse, side blow, thin end of the wedge, shift, go by, subterfuge, evasion; white lie etc. (untruth) 546; juggle, tour de force; tricks of the trade, tricks upon travelers; espieglerie [Fr.]; net, trap etc. 545.    Ulysses, Machiavel, sly boots, fox, reynard; Scotchman; Jew, Yankee; intriguer, intrigant^†; floater [U.S.], Indian giver [U.S.], keener [U.S.], repeater [U.S.].    ... show more

Roget 520: equivocalness etc. adj.; double meaning etc. 516; ambiguity, double entente, double entendre [Fr.], pun, paragram^†, calembour^†, quibble, equivoque [Fr.], anagram; conundrum etc. (riddle) 533; play on words, word play etc. (wit) 842; homonym, homonymy [Gramm.]; amphiboly^†, amphibology^†; ambilogy^†, ambiloquy^†.    Sphinx, Delphic oracle.    equivocation etc. (duplicity) 544; white lie, mental reservation etc. (concealment) 528; paltering.    ... show more

Roget 617: pretext, pretense, pretension, plea^†; allegation, advocation; ostensible motive, ostensible ground, ostensible reason, phony reason; excuse etc. (vindication) 937; subterfuge; color; gloss, guise, cover.    loop hole, starting hole; how to creep out of, salvo, come off; way of escape.    handle, peg to hang on, room locus standi [Lat.]; stalking-horse, cheval de bataille [Fr.], cue.    pretense etc. (untruth) 546; put off, dust thrown in the eyes; blind; moonshine; mere pretext, shallow pretext; lame excuse, lame apology; tub to a whale; false plea, sour grapes; makeshift, shift, white lie; special pleading etc. (sophistry) 477; soft sawder etc. (flattery) 933^†.    ... show more

Roget 528: concealment; hiding etc. v.; occultation, mystification.    seal of secrecy; screen etc. 530; disguise etc. 530; masquerade; masked battery; hiding place etc. 530; cryptography, steganography^†; freemasonry.    stealth, stealthiness, sneakiness; obreption^†; slyness etc. (cunning) 702.    latitancy^†, latitation^†; seclusion etc. 893; privacy, secrecy, secretness^†; incognita.    reticence; reserve; mental reserve, reservation; arriere pensee [Fr.], suppression, evasion, white lie, misprision; silence etc. (taciturnity) 585; suppression of truth etc. 544; underhand dealing; closeness, secretiveness etc. adj.; mystery.    latency etc. 526; snake in the grass; secret etc. 533; stowaway.    ... show more

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 om bestwil