Dad: Son, come in here, we need to talk.Son: What's up, Dad?
Dad: There's a scratch down the side of the car. Did you do it?
Son: No I did not scratch the car.
Dad: Well, it wasn't there yesterday, and you drove the car last night, and no one else
has driven it since. How can you explain the scratch?
Son: Well, as I've said before, I have no recollection of scratching the car. While it
is true that I did take the car out last night, I did not scratch it.
Dad: But your sister told me she saw you back the car against the mailbox at the
end of the driveway, heard a loud scraping sound, saw you get out to examine the
car, and then drive away. So again I'll ask you, yes or no, did you scratch the car?
Son: Oh, you mean you think you have evidence to prove that I scratched it. Well, you see,
I understood you to mean did "I" scratch the car. I stand by my earlier
statement, that I did not scratch the car.
Dad: Are you trying to tell me you didn't drive the car into the mailbox?
Son: Well, you see sir, I was trying to drive the car into the street. I mishandled the
steering of the car, and it resulted in direct contact with the mailbox, though that was
clearly not my intent.
Dad: So you are saying that you did hit the mailbox?
Son: No sir, that's not my statement. I'll refer you back to my original statement that I
did not scratch the car.
Dad: But the car did hit the mailbox, and the car did get scratched as a result of the
contact?
Son: Well, yes, I suppose you could categorize it that way.
Dad: So you lied to me when you said you did not scratch the car?
Son: No. No, that is not correct. Your question was "Did I scratch the car?"
From a strict legal definition, as I understood the meaning of that sentence, I did not
scratch the car... the mailbox did... I was merely present when the scratching occurred.
So my answer of "No" when you asked "Did I scratch the car" was
legally correct, although I did not volunteer information.
Dad: Where did you learn to talk like a complete idiot?
Son: From the President of the United States.
