A white lie

善意的谎言

这惯用语直译为“白色的谎言”，白色代表纯洁，因此white lie指“不会造成伤害的谎言”。一般人说这种谎言，多出于善意，想令当事人觉得好过些或为了逃避某些损失。

1.The doctor knew that James was very ill.However,to make him feel better,he told him a white lie that he would recover soon.医生知道詹姆斯的病情很严重，但为了安慰他，他撒了个小谎，说他很快便会复原。

2.I told my wife a white lie saying that she looked fabulous in her new clothes.我对太太撒了个善意的谎言，称赞她穿上新衣好看极了。请注意我们说"tell" a lie，而不是 "say"或"speak" a lie。