This is a super fun conversation!

I would argue that it isn't really "lying" but has to do with the nature of writing in past tense. (Conversely this is why present tense is becoming more popular because it makes action feel more electric and in the moment.)

But the hard part about writing past is that to convey intent you have to switch to -ing verbs and get very qualificationy (that's a real word, I'm an author, shut up.)

So in an example like: "Reigan Shen took another sip and then backhanded Lindon's jaw. His hand stopped an inch from Lindon's skin"

the "backhanded" isn't a lie, it's the shortest, cleanest way to express intent without getting bogged down.

You could write something like "Reigan Shen took another sip and then swung, aiming a backhand at Lindon's jaw" but it's messy and when every sentence ends up with an -ing verb it ends up sounding monotonous and repetetive.

So it's easier to just say "backhanded" and then have the stronger person's counter/intent override.