pious fraud

Noun

Meaning

An act of innocent deceit, technically using the methods of a fraudster but for an honest, honorable purpose.
White lies are verbal cases of pious fraud.

A person involved in such a fraud.

Synonyms

Examples

The Marxians love of democratic institutions was a stratagem only, a pious fraud for the deception of the masses. Within a socialist community there is no room left for freedom. Ludwig von Mises

Nietzsche discovered the clue to esotericism early ... "The fact of the pious fraud.”. Laurence Lampert

It is with a pious fraud as with a bad action it begets a calamitous necessity of going on. Thomas Paine

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