double bookkeeping

== English == === Alternative forms === double-bookkeeping === Etymology === By a metaphor with literal bookkeeping that evokes (1) a mental echo of the double-entry method thereof and (2) the notion of keeping two sets of books as a way to cover up the truth (i.e., by a different figure of speech, to cook the books). === Noun === double bookkeeping (uncountable) (psychology, psychiatry, idiomatic) The tendency, among those who experience delusions, to perceive reality and the delusions as both being real, while remaining unbothered by the discrepancy or inconsistencies between the two. 2012 June 22, Jeneen Interlandi, “When My Crazy Father Actually Lost His Mind”, NYTimes.com: While we waited for the doctor to evaluate him, my father did what mental health professionals refer to as double-bookkeeping. He remembered most of what transpired earlier in the day but still believed he was in the hospital to have his pacemaker checked. ==== Related terms ====