Telling a small, unimportant lie, usually to avoid getting in trouble or to spare someone's feelings.
From 'fib,' which likely originated in the 1600s as a shortened form of 'fable.' It gradually came to mean a minor lie rather than a grand story.
The word 'fib' was probably shortened because people noticed that smaller lies feel less serious, so language developed a lighter word for them—it's like how language itself helps us feel better about being dishonest!
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