A small lie to dodge a small consequence usually grows into a big one you can’t dodge.

The trade looks good at first because the consequence you are dodging is right in front of you and the cost of the lie is not. Then the lie needs support: a second detail, a story kept straight, one person kept away from another. By the time it matters, you are not defending the original thing anymore. You are defending the defense.

If you are early in one of these, this is the cheap moment to stop. Take the small consequence now and say the plain thing even though you already said the other. If the lie is older, start with the one person who matters most.