No Lie! They are saying the thing which is not.

[MineralMan]

I love this phrase from Gulliver's Travels. The Houyhnhnms, in that book, are a race of intelligent horses that have no word for "Lie." So, faced with an untruth, they declare that someone has "said the thing which is not."

Since most folks never got past Lilliput in that book, it's a little known expression, but one that deserves to be better known and used when saying someone lied is not appropriate.

For example, Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck are masters at saying the thing which is not.

[drm604]

1. Why is it inappropriate to say that Limbaugh and Beck lie?

Why complicate things. They lie, just say so.

[MineralMan]

2. I just like the phrase. It can make people think a little.

Probably the word "inappropriate" wasn't the right one. However, there are places where it is improper or against the rules to say that someone is lying. It's an alternative way of expressing something similar.

[rock]

3. saying the thing which is not is not necessarily lying

Obama could have replied to the "You lie!" outburst with: "Not only am I not lying, but what I'm saying is true."
One must know (or think) it's false to be lying, otherwise they're just mistaken.

[MineralMan]

4. Good point. Since we don't know whether many untruths

that are spoken are willful lying, the phrase provides an out against ad hominem attacks, while pointing out the non-factual nature of the statement.

[rock]

5. True

Yours is a more polite form and merely addresses the facts without judging and is therefore more objective.