又中又英 | Stone - cold Liar | 褚简宁

　　Have you ever lied? I would be lying to myself if I said I have never lied. We have all told lies. But the type of lie is what makes one liar different from another. Most people have told white lies. A white lie is a harmless lie or a lie that a person tells to be polite or to avoid hurting someone with the truth. People who tell white lies are different from natural liars, compulsive liars and pathological liars. A natural liar is the most common type. Natural liars are people who can lie easily with great skill but they, of course, don't believe in their own lies.

　　Compulsive liars lie out of habit, often without realizing it, to relieve stress or anxiety. Pathological liars lie intentionally to manipulate others, cover up something, or to create a certain image of themselves. Many critics of US President Donald Trump have accused him of being a pathological liar. California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has taken legal action against Trump's decision to use the National Guard to deal with protests in Los Angeles, called Trump a stone-cold liar last week. The expression "stone-cold" can be used in several ways but used this way describes someone with no feelings or emotions.

　　A stone-cold liar is someone who tells lies without regret or feelings. Newsom called Trump a stone-cold liar several times after accusing Trump of publicly lying about what they discussed in a phone call regarding the Los Angeles protests. The expression “stone-cold liar” is similar to a barefaced liar. A barefaced liar is someone who tells an obvious lie without feeling any shame.

　　你可曾说过谎？我如果说我从未曾说谎，那就是骗自己的。我们人人都撒过谎。然而，说谎者却不尽相同，视乎他是说哪一种类型的谎话。大部分人都曾说过「白色谎言」（white lies）。A white lie是无害的谎言，又或是出于礼貌或避免说真话会伤害对方而说的善意谎言。说善意谎言（white lies）的人跟natural liars、compulsive liars及pathological liars是不同的。A natural liar是最常见的一种，这种天生的说谎者能满有技巧地轻易说谎，但当然他们也不会相信自己的谎话。

　　Compulsive liars是说谎成性的人，他们出于习惯，为了纾缓压力或焦虑而强逼性说谎，甚至很多时候不自知。Pathological liars则是病态说谎者，为了操控他人、掩藏某事，又或给自己塑造某种特定的形象而故意说谎。许多批评美国总统当劳．特朗普的人都指责他是个病态说谎者（pathological liars）。加州州长加文．纽森，已就特朗普使用国民警卫队处理洛杉矶示威的决定采取法律行动，他上星期称呼特朗普为stone-cold liar——习语stone-cold可以有几种用法，但在这里是用来形容某人铁石心肠、没有感受或情绪的。

　　A stone-cold liar是一个人说谎而毫不悔疚、毫无感受。纽森指控特朗普对于2人就洛杉矶示威通话的内容公开撒谎，其后他数度称呼特朗普为铁石心肠的撒谎者（stone-cold liar）。习语 stone-cold liar跟barefaced liar的意思相近，a barefaced liar就是公然说了个明显的谎言，却还能厚颜无耻的人。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻