blue lie

名词 n.

英文释义

名词 n.
  1. A lie told by a police officer in order to get someone to comply with his or her wishes, thereby avoiding the use of force.
    — Blue lies are different from police placebos in that they are not told to help or comfort the person lied to but, rather, to exert control
  2. A lie told to protect the reputation of one's group or organization.
    — About Manete's evidence, that Francis had asked him why he did not join the people, why he did not fight, Francis said, "No, he is telling a blue lie."

词形变化

blue lies plural

词汇关系

相关词
white lie

词源

Coined by Carl Klockars referring to the blue color of American police uniforms. Klockars used the term for a lie told in order to achieve compliance without resorting to force. However, the term later became generalized to all lies told by police, and then especially to the lies told by police officers to conceal questionable behavior on the part of police force. By extension, the term came to mean any lie told to protect the reputation of one's group or organization, even when not told by a police officer.
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