What is the difference between the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

Answer 1

Let's imagine you are a prosecuting attorney who has put a man on trial whom you believe murdered his cheating wife with a handgun. In reality, the man was an accomplice who hired another man to sneak into the house and shoot his wife while she was working late in the home office and the husband was in bed. Now, you have him on the stand and under oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

The Truth:

You: Sir, what happened on the night your wife was killed?

Murderer: A man entered our home and shot her.

The Whole Truth:

You: Sir, what happened on the night your wife was killed?

Murderer: A man whom I hired to kill my wife entered our home and shot her.

The Truth Mixed with Untruth:

You: Sir, what happened on the night your wife was killed?

Murderer: A man whom I hired to kill my wife entered our home and shot her. However, I turned the porch light off to signal to him--as we had previously agreed--that the job was cancelled because I had forgiven my wife for cheating on me. But, one of the kids turned the light back on, so he ended up killing her anyway.

In the final statement the husband tells a lie in order to reduce his culpability to the crime. In this case he is telling the truth and up to the point where he tells the lie about the porth light, it is the whole truth. But, his statement cannot be said to contain nothing but the truth.