Oh, how I wish all of you would have been at this conference session today that I attended. It was about how to tell when nurses at hearings are telling lies. The speaker was an author who wrote this book. So, here are all the "lying" words or phrases:
Actually - I just didn't get that one
We instead of I - I get that
Honest to God
To be sure
Honestly
Really
Frankly
Swear to God
Swear on my mother's grave

I suppose I can see some of them, but I have a problem with "really" or "actually" or "frankly." Yes, they may be fill-in words (or whatever we call them), but do they indicate lying to you? If so, we have a lot of liars out there.

It would be nice if it was that easy.

McClish was mentioned by Language Log a few years ago.

Then there are the 'tells' like shaking your head 'no' while you verbally proclaim 'yes'. Gotta be a 'Mentalist' to spot those LOL.

Police unfortunately have developed a mindset that even the most innocent or mundane instrument is potentially a weapon for evil.
The other day my wife opened her purse and I noticed a large scrrewdriver inside. I asked her why she had it. She told me she uses it to open a folding table she uses when volunteering at local pet stores for the animal shelter.

Besides being petite, my wife has arthritis and she can't open the table easily unless she wedges the screwdriver in the gap.

But I had to warn her what would happen if she got stopped for a traffic violation and they searched her car. They wouldn't believe that story. And it would be goodby to the Witness Protection Program.

I agree that those words are ridiculous. I have found myself saying "actually" and others since then.

Very interesting Language Log post, goofy. I'd love to send it to our administration, but it probably wouldn't be a good idea. I wish they'd asked me before hiring him.

The worst of it is, though, I think boards of nursing, police, etc., use stuff such as this when deciding if the person is guilty or not. That's scary.