White lies
Little fibs
Harmless prevarications
Genteel fictions
Telling the truth mainly, but stretchin' it some
Artful misdirection
Poetic license
Flights of whimsy
Pursuing a less literal, more memoir-centered notion of "truth"
Yarns
Tall tales
Fish stories
Off-the-record briefings
Keeping our oral folklore traditions alive
Commiserating
Diplomatic balderdash
Stimulating the hearer's sense of wonder
Telling all the truth but telling it slant
Telling some of the truth, slantier
Slanting, baby, slanting
Strategic omissions
Misleading paraphrases
Verbal legerdemain
Sympathetic nodding
Thrilling campfire tales
Press relations
Having the courage to describe the world as we wish it to be
Accessorizing properly for fall colors
Explaining how Santa can be in so many places at the same time
Seemingly accidental misrepresentations
Making soothing noises
Pulling Maggie Haberman's leg, just as a little joke
Sharing staff diet tips
Deliberately misunderstanding
cross-posted from Dagblog: please comment there, not here
