Lyle

"The good, the bad, the so-so... Make all of it work for you."

- Lyle

Lyle is an otter in the introduced in. In, he is a salesman who sells insurance to the player and is heavily implied to be a con artist running a scam. In subsequent games, he works in real estate, being the chairman of the Happy Room Academy in and an employee of Nook's Homes in  and.

Lyle's name may be derived from lie, reflecting his job in. His names in other languages also reference him being a con artist, with his Japanese name, Honma-san (ホンマさん), meaning "truth" or "reality", being used ironically, and his Spanish and Italian names being derived from steal and fraud, respectively.

Appearance
Lyle is a blue otter with a cream muzzle, four large whiskers, and dark blue hair. He wears black thick-rimmed glasses. In, he wears a tan jacket with a blue shirt and red tie, and he carries a black briefcase. In onward, he wears a red jacket with a white shirt and yellow tie.

Personality
Lyle is characterized as an energetic salesman, speaking in short, quick sentences and often asking the player several sequential questions. He refers to himself in the third person and frequently interjects with "bang" and uses the phrase "bust my chops." In he is also characterized as a con artist, pushing the player to buy his dubious insurance.

Background
In Lyle mentions that he used to change jobs frequently, but he settled on his career in real estate to not put stress on his family. Dialog from and, paired with his job in , suggests that he made a career as a con artist before moving to a legitimate job in real estate.

In, if the player has many fossils in a room, he says, "Fossils creep Lyle out. He used to dig 'em up. In the yard. Not the backyard. The other yard. Forget it," suggesting that he once worked in a graveyard.

Family and relationships
Lyle has a wife and two daughters. He is also Lottie's uncle.

In, it is implied that Lyle works with Redd in scamming people, with Redd selling forgeries and Lyle having the player set the day Redd visits and selling insurance for forgeries. When asked, Lyle downplays his relationship with Redd, saying "we just know each other from around."

In
In, Lyle appears outside the player's house every Saturday. He tells the player his company is doing research and has them fill out a questionnaire. He first asks the player which day of the week, Monday through Friday, they want Redd to visit town on. Lyle then asks a series of questions, and regardless of the player's responses, he comes to the conclusion that they need insurance, which he sells.

Initially, Lyle sells accident insurance for 3,000 Bells. If the player purchases it, Lyle will send them 100 Bells each time they trip or get stung by bees, up to once per day. The next week, Lyle asks the same questions and tells the player they need damage insurance. If the player purchases it for 6,000 Bells, Lyle will send the player 100 Bells each time they bring him a forged painting, up to once per day.

If the player has purchased both types of insurance, Lyle still appears on Saturdays and allows the player to change the day of the week Redd appears on. Lyle can also appear at The Roost from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM on Sundays.

Normal villagers sometimes warn of a health insurance scam operating in the area, which is a reference to Lyle and his scamming techniques. Some jock villagers also say the same thing—how someone came and asked them if they wanted their muscles insured. At first they said no, because "whoever's heard of insuring your muscles?" and that another villager told them it was a scam. If the player speaks to Blathers on the fourth Sunday of May, he tells them how Lyle tried to sell his insurance to him in the museum. The villagers will also constantly mention how Blathers seems flustered and not his usual self.

In
In, Lyle works as the chairman of the Happy Room Academy, appearing in its headquarters in the city. The player must speak to him to join the HRA. After the player has joined, Lyle can evaluate their house at any time and tell them their score. Additionally, the player can speak to him to stop receiving evaluation letters from the HRA.

In
Lyle returns in. He appears in Nook's Homes after certain conditions have been met and runs the Happy Home Academy, the successor of the Happy Room Academy seen in previous titles. His office is in the bottom left of the store, where a seating area was previously. Similar to, Lyle gives the player their HHA evaluation. However, he no longer presents model rooms, a job now done by Digby.

Beginning the update,  can be obtained from Wisp after Lyle's amiibo card is scanned.

In
While initially absent from, Lyle makes his return in the 2.0 update, where he can be invited to The Roost or Harv's Island via his amiibo, the latter of which will also allow the player to obtain from Nook Shopping. When summoned at The Roost, he will also bring Lottie, Tom Nook, and Digby.

In, when Lyle's vacation home is completed, Lottie sends the player.

In
In, Lyle appears on the second floor of Nook's Homes, as a senior designer. He gives the player tips for designing when spoken to, but he seems forgetful, as Lyle constantly asks the player if he has already told them about the tip provided, and appears quite pleased if it's not the case.

In
Lyle makes a cameo in, sitting next to Dr. Shrunk in the audience at the Fireworks Festival.

In
In, Lyle has a chance of appearing as a spectator in the Smashville stage. He also appears as a collectible sticker.

In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
In, Lyle once again has a chance of appearing as a spectator in the Smashville and Town and City stages. He also appears as a collectible trophy.

Trivia

 * Lyle may be based on a kawauso (獺), a magical river otter in Japanese folklore that enjoys playing tricks on humans. Kawauso are similar to kitsune and tanuki, hence Lyle's connections to Redd and Tom Nook. This doubles as a play on words, since uso is the Japanese word for "lie".