I agree your example of a salary adjustment is fine, no deceit there.
The deceit comes from pretending to be qualified for a fundamental job requirement that you'll never meet (the requirement to work full time).
A better example is applying for a job that requires a license and after weeks of interviews you finally get an offer just to turn around and say "actually I don't have a license and I'm not willing to get one, but I hope your offer still stands?". Except it's even worse becuase at least in that case the employer can verify your license right off and avoid wasting everyone's time.
Lying on a resume or application is just not a good look.
The deceit comes from pretending to be qualified for a fundamental job requirement that you'll never meet (the requirement to work full time).
A better example is applying for a job that requires a license and after weeks of interviews you finally get an offer just to turn around and say "actually I don't have a license and I'm not willing to get one, but I hope your offer still stands?". Except it's even worse becuase at least in that case the employer can verify your license right off and avoid wasting everyone's time.
Lying on a resume or application is just not a good look.