[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.

[CatoRenasci]

I don't disagree, but if someone had done all the work, and was pending only a formality for the actual award of the degree, I could see them claiming a PhD for "squib" bio at the end of an article, though it would be more careful to say 'PhD pending'.

Obviously, in a communication to an employer, one could make the exact status clear without misleading, as in "I have completed the requirements for my PhD in X, [other than y], and expect formal award of the degree in [month, year].