Last week, I spent time with my older sister and her husband, who came for a visit to our neck of the woods. We had a glorious time in Victoria, BC, which is why I missed doing a blog last week. But I’m getting off topic. My brother-in-law used this phrase, which I absolutely loved: “Improving the lie,” Of course, I didn’t realize it was a golf phrase and had absolutely nothing to do with what I envisioned, but I thought it was so good that I decided I would include it in one of my books and create my own meaning. I envisioned this as something slimy politicians and other less-than-honest folks would do…a new form of gaslighting. Instead of fessing up to something a politician has said, they would double down and just figure out a way to improve the lie. Of course, we all know who does this so brilliantly; he has a cult-like following because of his skills at improving the lie. As it turns out, I’m not the only one to use this phrase in the arena of politics. Damn. I thought I was being clever. Of course I had to research this.

The phrase does indeed originate from the golf practice of moving your ball if you’re unfortunate enough to hit your ball into the sand, divit, or rough grass. The basic rule is that you have to play the ball where it lies, but when you’re in a friendly game, others may allow you to improve your lie.
Periodically, political pundits or journalists at The New York Times or the Wall Street Journal have used this term to describe someone trying to gain an unfair advantage in a bad situation, typically a politician.
John Updike often wove golf terminology into his fiction and essays and is believed to have used this particular phrase.
Civil engineers and surveyors use the phrase “improving the lie of the land” when referring to making a plot of real estate more suitable by grading, leveling, or altering the topography, particularly with regard to the foundation or proper water drainage.
Textile and rope manufacturers talk about the “lie” as it relates to the direction and tension of the twist in the yarn or strands. So improving the lie means increasing tensile strength to reduce fraying in industrial ropes.

Personally, I like it to refer to a kind of manipulation of the masses, or describing when a manipulative character tries to get themselves out of hot water. I loved the line so much that I added it to my upcoming book, Blind Faith, which goes on pre-order pretty soon. Maybe I’ll start a new fad, and this will become a popular phrase like “comfortable silence.” (Which, for the record, even though a lot of people think this is overused, I still don’t mind reading it in a book). Sometimes a line is so good, you never get tired of it! Feel free to check out my books, where I’m sure I’ve repeated lines that resonate with me. Authors do that sometimes. As a special treat, I’m doing the cover reveal for Blind Faith in this blog!