[CatoRenasci]

It’s not entirely clear whether O’Bagy was guilty of an outright lie, i.e., claiming a PhD with no basis, or an exaggeration, claiming a PhD when she’d done everything but the oral defense of a dissertation. Or something in between. Published reports said she was working on a disseration at Georgetown: people in that status are often referred to as ABD (all but dissertation) or C.Phil (Candidate in Philosophy) to acknowledge that they’re in the process of getting the PhD.

[Wingy]

So, to paraphrase Woopie, this may not have been a "Lie, Lie", but more of a fib? It's hard to keep it all straight.

When someone says that they have a Phd, I always thought that they had a Phd. If they didn't have it, but were only working at it, they they didn't have a Phd.

Silly me for thinking that.

[oldsicilian]

A lie is a lie. No Ph.D. until it is officially awarded.