/ə ˌkɒk ən ˈbʊl ˌstɔːɹi/
English idiom, informal. To talk nonsense or tell tall stories.
Draft Not yet checked by a native English speaker.
How do people use A cock-and-bull story
?
Informal and a bit old-fashioned, but still common for an excuse or tale that’s too silly to believe: “He gave me some cock-and-bull story about losing his keys.” It’s usually the object of “tell”, “give” or “believe”, and it’s said with open disbelief.
Also said a cock and bull story
A cock-and-bull story
in real sentences
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Do you really believe a cock-and-bull story like that?
Tatoeba, sentence by sundown, CC BY 2.0 FR
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The landlord told me a cock and bull story about why we didn’t have heat for three days.
Tatoeba, sentence by papabear, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does A cock-and-bull story
come from?
Nobody knows. English Wiktionary marks the etymology as unknown and points to the French “coq-à-l’âne” (cock to the donkey), an older word for a rambling, nonsensical story. One theory links it to fables with talking animals, and another to two coaching inns called The Cock and The Bull in Stony Stratford, where travelers supposedly swapped gossip; Michael Quinion’s World Wide Words treats neither as proven.
Mistakes learners make with A cock-and-bull story
Because “cock” is also slang for penis, learners sometimes think the phrase is rude. It isn’t: the cock here is a rooster, and you can say it at work.
Other English idioms like A cock-and-bull story
Spot a mistake in A cock-and-bull story
?
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