I wouldn't call "arrays are pointers" a polite fiction. I'd call it a dangerous misconception that makes it more difficult to understand what's really going on.

I wouldn't call "arrays are pointers" a polite fiction. I'd call it a dangerous misconception that makes it more difficult to understand what's really going on. The language is partly at fault for a couple of rules that implicitly convert or "adjust" arrays to pointers in certain contexts, but the solution is to explain the differences, not to gloss over them.