reservation, mental
reservation, mental
An act of the mind limiting the spoken phrase that it may not bear the full sense which, at first hearing, it seems to bear. A pure mental reservation is not indicated externally and is a lie. A broad mental reservation is indicated externally; it is permissible only as a last resource and when no other means are available for the preservation of some secret, which one should keep as a duty to others or a right to oneself. See also, secret.