Meaning of butler lie | Babel Free

Definitions

A polite lie told in a text, on the phone, or through a similar electronic medium that provides an excuse for why one is unavailable.

Examples

“By indicating that a contact⟳ has read⟳ a message, this feature may affect⟳ response time expectations and also makes it more difficult to tell⟳ a butler lie⟳ excusing late reply⟳ to a message (eg, “sorry; just saw⟳ your message”).”

“Thus, if we want⟳ to end⟳ a mediated communication we may tell⟳ a butler lie⟳ like⟳ 'someone has just knocked at the door', or if we do not want⟳ to meet⟳ someone at a suggested time we may say⟳ we cannot because we 'have⟳ an assignment to finish⟳'.”

“He's lying, but it's a polite lie⟳. A butler lie⟳.”

CEFR level