cock-and-bull story
[ kok-uh n-boo l ]
/ ˈkɒk ənˈbʊl /
noun
an absurd, improbable story presented as the truth: Don't ask him about his ancestry unless you want to hear a cock-and-bull story.
Origin of cock-and-bull story
First recorded in 1600–10; probably with orig. reference to some fable in which a cock and bull figure
Words nearby cock-and-bull story
cock rock,
cock's-foot,
cock-a-doodle-doo,
cock-a-hoop,
cock-a-leekie,
cock-and-bull story,
cock-of-the-rock,
cockabully,
cockade,
cockaigne,
cockalorum
Example sentences from the Web for cock-and-bull story
That sounds like a cock-and-bull-story,—said the young fellow whom they call John.
The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table |Oliver Wendell Holmes
British Dictionary definitions for cock-and-bull story
cock-and-bull story
noun
informal
an obviously improbable story, esp a boastful one or one used as an excuse
Cultural definitions for cock-and-bull story
cock-and-bull story
A story that is false: “When John came home at 3:30 a.m., he gave his mother some cock-and-bull story about having a flat tire on the way home.”