What does the proverb “A half truth is a whole lie” mean?
A. It is better to lie than to tell the truth partially.
B. Partial truths are often misleading and can be as harmful as lies.
C. Only complete honesty can be trusted.
D. The truth is always relative and depends on perspective.
Explanation:
The proverb “A half truth is a whole lie” means that a statement that is only partially true can be as harmful as a complete lie because it can be misleading and deceive people. The proverb implies that complete honesty is important and that even small omissions or distortions of the truth can have serious consequences.
Option A, “It is better to lie than to tell the truth partially,” is the opposite of the proverb and is incorrect. Option C, “Only complete honesty can be trusted,” is related to the proverb but is too broad and does not fully capture its meaning. Option D, “The truth is always relative and depends on perspective,” is not related to the proverb and is incorrect.
In summary, the proverb “A half truth is a whole lie” means that partial truths can be as harmful as lies because they can be misleading and deceive people, and complete honesty is important.