Lie detector: Hidden secrets in handwriting

Can he be trusted? Is she a fraud? In “Sex, Lies, and Handwriting,” expert Michelle Dresbold says clues to the truth can be found in a person's penmanship. An excerpt.

Dirty rotten scoundrels
He loved to talk about everything. He told you about his favorite foods, his travels abroad, his Aunt Marge in Omaha, his second grade teacher, and his cat Fluffy. The only thing that he neglected to mention was his wife in Wichita, his other wife in Minneapolis, yet another wife in Laredo, and his recent engagement to a widow in Phoenix ...

Your brother-­in-­law the stockbroker offers you a chance to double your investment in six months.

“Don’t pass this up,” he says. “An opportunity like this ­doesn’t come along every day.”

“Are you sure?” you ask.

“Trust me,” he says.

You reach for your checkbook. He ­wouldn’t lie to you, right? After all, he is your brother-­in-law ...

Signs of a lyin’, cheatin’, cold dead beatin’ two-­timin’, double-dealin’, mean mistreatin’ scoundrel
The letters a and o are the communication letters. Think of these letters as little mouths. When a ­writer’s a’s and o’s are open at the top, that writer likes to talk, and will find it difficult to keep a secret.

When they are completely closed at the top, the writer is someone you can trust to take your secret to the grave. But when a ­writer’s a’s and o’s are distorted or unclear, trust not.

Writers with a’s and o’s that are open at the bottom are bottom feeders who will eat you up and spit you out.

They communicate in such a deceptive and distorted way, that nothing they say is believable. Jeffrey ­Dahmer’s o’s and a’s were a sign of his voracious appetite for lying.

Slashes through a’s and o’s, known as “forked tongue strokes,” are signs of a conniving, scheming liar. Notice the slash in O. J. ­Simpson’s O.

O’s or a’s that are filled with ink indicate that the writer communicates in dark, muddied ways. Jack the ­Ripper’s muddied o’s in “bloody” convey the darkness of his message.

The wedding planner
If your fiancé leaves out one or two itty-­bitty details about his life (like the fact that ­he’s already married), can your relationship still work?

Betty told me she was shocked when she discovered the truth about Harry, the man she had dated for two years:

"I recently suffered a most rude awaking when I discovered that the gentle, sweet, handsome man I fell in love with, the man who asked me to marry him, had been lying to me. The biggest secret that he kept from me was his current marriage! I discovered that he had been lying to me by looking up the deed to his house.

"Upon being confronted, his excuse was that he ­didn’t want to tell me until after his divorce was finalized, as he feared losing me. During our relationship, he frequently discussed marriage plans and our future together. He went as far as planning our wedding and putting the plans on paper.

Can you tell me whether this man is safe to forgive and ever trust as a friend?"

Handsome ­Harry’s flamboyant script and ornately embellished letters show me that he can be quite the actor, gifted at embellishing the truth.

You know that o’s and a’s that are tightly closed at the top mean that the writer is tight-­lipped and secretive. Look at way Harry made his o in the word “Who.” He not only closed his o at the top, he made sure it was sealed tight by finishing it at the bottom. There is no way this writer would leave even a slight gap at the top. ­He’s so secretive that he ­won’t even tell himself the truth.

Why would a married man make such a show of planning a wedding that ­couldn’t be? Why would he care about the “Wedding Dress, colors, party, food, reception, cutlery, decorations, cake, champagne, music, entertainment ... ”? Given his ultra-­flowery and feminine handwriting, I wonder if Handsome ­Harry’s wedding fantasy is more about proving to Betty that ­he’s the marrying kind — or proving to himself that, all things being equal, ­he’d rather be the bride.

Betty asked if ­it’s safe for her to be friends with a man who pretended to plan the details of their wedding, but forgot to tell her that he has a wife.

There are many things in a friend we should desire ... three of them being that ­he’s not a fake, a phony, or a liar.

The boss from hell
Miriam had worked at the same dental office for ten years. She wrote to me about her new supervisor, who was making Miriam and her coworkers miserable:

“Ever since Dr. Annie joined the group two years ago, ­it’s been hell for all of us. Dr. Annie is the most evil woman I’ve ever met. She has written all the women in the office disparaging notes, belittling them and their work. I am enclosing the note she wrote to me. I realize that you ­don’t know me, but the letter she wrote — it’s like ­she’s talking about herself — not me.”

Following is the text of the letter Miriam received from Dr. Annie:

Your lack of care and commitment to your job and most aspects of your job is profoundly appalling. Your office manager skills are so poor. I am amazed at how incompetent, sloppy, and disorganized you continue to be. You have no leadership capabilities, rather you intimidate and bully anybody who ­doesn’t go along with your personal, self-­centered, power-­hungry ways. You are a con and a fake — a pathetic excuse of a human being.

See that sharp point inside the a in the word “capabilities”? ­That’s a “stinger.” When you find stingers inside the communication letters, o or a, you know that the writer communicates with sharp, piercing words.

Stinger writers also tend to be extreme in their sexual lifestyles — they either abstain from sex entirely, or they become sexaholics.

Now, take a good look at the n in the word “manager.” See how the pointed top of the second hump of the n looks like it could take a bite out of you? This stroke is called a ­“shark’s tooth.” Shark’s teeth appear in the writing of people who are emotionally hungry — not just a little hungry, but voracious. If you get in their way when they are in a feeding frenzy, beware, because you could be in for a merciless bloodletting.

If you happen to see stingers or ­shark’s teeth in the writing of your boss, it may be time to update your résumé.

More from TODAY Oh yes! Think your way to better sex Ambush! From librarian to 'hot grandmother' | Video YouTube smash: Babies on skates | See the entire video   Where is Michael Jackson’s body?  |   Custody fight?   The Week in Pictures | More photos

MORE FROM TODAY BOOKS: RELATIONSHIPS

Boys 101: Writer offers teen girls a crash course

Boys 101: Writer offers teen girls a crash course How to get a great deal ... on a husband Dating driving you crazy? How to get sane Spring fever: ’Tis the season to be flirtatious Why didn’t he call? Dating coach investigates Finding love is science, not a fairy tale   Guys answer your questions   Keeping the fire alive ‘Happens Every Day’ a memoir of heartbreak Left at the altar, he traveled the world   Add Today Books: Relationships headlines to your news reader: