Bald-faced or bold-faced ... lie.

1) A "bald-faced liar" is someone who tells a lie without attempting to hide it. It is not surprising that it would be easily confused with "bold" because a lying without attempting to hide it implies some boldness.

"bold-faced" is not improper either, it just means that it was said with a bold face...whereas "bald-faced" does not necessarily imply a specific expression.

In this context, "bald" is being used to mean undisguised here. Bald-faced means that their facial expression is undisguised.

Dictionary.com on "bald":



2) It should be one hyphenated word

3) bald-face lie is incorrect

4) You could use "bald-faced" in reference to anything action to imply that the action was done without disguising facial expression. For example, a "a bald-faced look" or a "a bald-faced hug" although, it doesn't always sound familiar

What bare faced cheek.

The participial adjective bold-faced is defined by the OED as "Having a bold or confident face or look; usually impudent." The adjective bald-faced is described by the OED simply as "having a bald face." The adjective barefaced is explained by the OED as "with the face uncovered: hence with no hair on the face, beardless, whiskerless."
He wanted to know if an out-and-out liar is more properly called a bold-faced liar or a bald-faced liar.

The truth is this: both are used, and so is barefaced. Bald-faced is the newest term; its first known print appearance dates back only 62 years, to 1943. Bold-faced is some four centuries older than that, dating to 1591. Although you might guess bald-faced developed out of a mishearing of bold-faced, the meanings of the two adjectives are not synonymous. Bold-faced means "bold in manner or conduct; impudent"; bald-faced has the same meaning as barefaced: "open; unconcealed"; and "having or showing a lack of scruples."

Barefaced is one year older than bold-faced; its first print appearance dates to 1590. But the original meaning of barefaced was literal: it meant "having the face uncovered," either "beardless" or "wearing no mask." Not surprisingly, folks using the word barefaced were open to shifting the adjective into the metaphoric realm: barefaced soon came to describe something "unconcealed or open"; and then something "showing or having a lack of scruples."

http://www.mtannoyances.com/?p=384

4) None of the kumquats I have had have had scruples.