He told a lie

it's a movie.. remember the airport scene at the end?
total BS

but great comedy.

It was not a statement, it was a threat.

Also, it wasn't a lie per se, because it was an expression of an intention of doing something in the future. To add, he didn't specify a timeframe.

So if it WAS his honest intention at the heat of the moment, how was that a lie?

Even if it wasn't, he didn't specify WHEN he would break it off. Also, "IT" can mean SO MANY THINGS, that as long as he breaks SOMETHING off, even if he does it 40 years later, it's still the truth. He could've been referring to almost anything by 'it', even the pen itself.

He didn't say he would break off his hand - and 'breaking off' can also mean many things, it doesn't have to be literal. You can break off a bad habit, for example (I think).

The 'wish' only lasts for one day, therefore, 'it' can't be monitoring whether he actually follows through on the promise - even in the worse-case scenario, this threat doesn't become a lie until his body dies and he didn't break 'it' off - -

- - and we can debate whether it would become a lie EVEN THEN, since _HE_ never dies, but just continues to the astral world, and then reincarnates at some point, and so on, so ... does it EVER become a lie, if he lives forever (as all life does - only lifeFORMS die, life is energy, and energy can't be destroyed, so life never dies or is born)?

So he didn't lie, and you are wrong.

It was a threat not a lie

How would he break it off anyway

uh well it did write it. so where is the lie?

Maybe at that moment he really mean to break his hand but after that he change is mind or maybe even forget about the threat. Think about a guy who make fun of you, you really want to slap him, but when you have the opportunity to do it you regret or relax. Another example, you tell yourself "I will go to the bank today" and than you postpone it to the next day.

How was that a lie?

I think him answering the judge decietfully about who beat him up is more a lie than that. Though maybe that's only because his son who made the wish wouldn't want his father in jail. I came up with a good answer to that!