# double bookkeeping

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/double-bookkeeping
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

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.

## Examples

- The patient uses double bookkeeping to accept both his real life and his delusions.
- His double bookkeeping makes him believe he is both a baker and a ghost.
- The doctor noted the patient's double bookkeeping, as he spoke calmly about his job while simultaneously describing his imaginary life as a king.
- Even though she knows she is in a hospital, her double bookkeeping allows her to believe the nurses are actually secret agents guarding her palace.
- In a fascinating display of double bookkeeping, the subject maintained a functional daily routine while remaining entirely convinced of the impossible narrative he had constructed for himself.

## Origin

Derived from a metaphor for literal bookkeeping, the term evokes a mental echo of the double-entry method. It relies further upon the notion of maintaining two sets of books as a means of obscuring the truth, a practice otherwise described as cooking the books.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.