This week, we've got lies and liars on our mind, thanks to our listener Tom Gryniewicz.
Gryniewicz said, "I read in a Sherlock Holmes story that he gave the facts 'baldly,' so the word may have been common in the late 1800's. Was [a boldfaced lie] originally a 'bald-faced lie?'"
Tracking down the answer to this question wasn't exactly elementary. However, as astute language detectives, we were certainly up for the task.
When it comes to discussing egregious lies, there are several options. Curiously, they're all four letter words that start with "b."
As our listener mentioned, there's "bald-faced" and "boldfaced," but there's also "barefaced." All three phrases can appear with or without the final "d" in "faced," and all three phrases are used to describe a lies that are shameless or impudent or something similar.
Of the three, "barefaced" has been around the longest. It originally meant "beardless" or "without a mask," but quickly came to also mean "undisguised" or "unconcealed." The first references to "barefaced lies" go back to the late 1700, and the term is still around today, though it's seen as more of a Britishism.
"Bald-faced" means just what it sounds like: a face with no hair on it. By the mid-1700s, it could also mean "unconcealed," "shameless," and "impudent." That's how it eventually comes to describe lies and liars. The editors at Merriam Webster think that "baldfaced" possibly overtook "bare faced" in the 20th century, because "barefaced" didn't seem strong to describe such egregious lies.
Then, there's "boldfaced." When "boldfaced" came in, it was about having a bold look, such as "bold faced ruffians." For more on how it got attached to lies and liars, listen to the audio above.
