White lie: a harmless or trivial lie, especially one told to avoid hurting someone's feelings (MBP dictionary)
A friend who is an academic is late writing up a reference for a student for post-graduate studies at a prestigious university. Only by a day, but late all the same if they’re very strict about deadlines.
He had to go and visit his mother (who’s 99+, and lives in another country), so he forgot about it in the rush to get ready for the trip, on top of all his professorial duties (marking coursework and test papers).
Visiting one’s ageing mother is a good reason, which should be good enough mitigation, so that’s the bit he will present.
Not an active white lie as such, just omission of the damaging half.
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