Hi Page.  What a great use of humor!  I think you pretty much covered all the bases when it comes to admitting one's failures.  The words that came to me as I read your post are humility and surrender.

Learning this lesson myself more than once, I distinctly remember the word, "confess", come to me when I knew I need to address an issue with a colleague.  Since then I've developed these guidelines as my goal when it comes to address my failings: Be open, timely and direct.

I think "open" certainly connects with your points of not misleading or lying.  For me being timely is important in that #1, the more I procrastinate the "lumps" can become more painful and #2, the longer I take the more likely I'm (or the other person is) making up stories that make the situation worse.

Regarding my goal of being direct - now certainly there are going to be times where I consult trusted advisors on dealing with my issue, but ultimately I commit to addressing the issue directly with the person impacted or involved.

Thanks so much for brining this up, and challenging us all to use the SMELL test :)