 These observations are related to the claim that “the laws of physics lie”, which has been suggested by Nancy Cartwright (1983). She has claimed that there are theoretical laws, which are supposed to be “simple” but rarely if ever instantiated, and phenomenological laws, which are frequently instantiated but typically if not always complex. Armstrong (1983: 137–140) draws a distinction between laws that are “iron” and have no exceptions and those that are “oaken” and have no exceptions as long as no interfering conditions are present. In his language, unless Cartwright has overlooked the possibility that some laws might be both complex and true, she seems to be saying that theoretical laws are “oaken” laws for which there are no “iron” counterparts. If that is right, then she has failed to appreciate the distinction between counterfactual conditionals (which may be true in spite of having no instances) and mere indicative conditionals (which may be true because they have no instances). The “provisos” problem implies that satisfying the requirement of maximal specificity may be more demanding than has been generally understood in the past. Either way, Cartwright’s theses appear to trade on an equivocation between the non-existence of “iron” counterparts and their non-availability: even if the “iron” laws within a domain are not yet known, it does not follow that those laws do not exist.