Irish Economy: In 1986 Sir Robert Armstrong, UK Cabinet Secretary, used a euphemism for lying that had its origin in 1796 — “economical with the truth” — during a court case in Australia on the British government’s request for a ban on a book by a former spy. The admission by Enda Kenny, taoiseach, this week that his past claims that Patrick Honohan, Central Bank governor, had suggested on a Wednesday in some undated week that the Army could be required to protect banks and ATM machines, from expected mobs in the streets, were not correct, appears to be an admission of a lie rather than tailoring the truth. It also highlights the corrosive impact of political spin.