bull session

American  

noun

Informal.

1. an informal, spontaneous discussion.

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bull session British  

noun

1. informal an informal discussion, often among men

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bull session Idioms  

1. An informal discussion, as in College students love late-night bull sessions about anything and everything, from professors to poetry to politics. This expression originally referred to an exchange of opinions and anecdotes, including stories of sexual prowess, by men, and then came to be used more broadly. [Slang; c. 1915]

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Etymology

Origin of bull session

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

Their musings are as substantial as a late-night bull session in a college dorm room.

From Salon • Aug. 12, 2023

But Mandel has the stylistic elegance and emotional sympathy to make this more than merely an undergraduate bull session.

From Washington Post • Apr. 12, 2022

Its mix of Twitter-centric water cooler talk, free-form bull session, and a deluge of takes “sprayed” by its hosts has pushed the podcast to outgrow its origin story.

From New York Times • Sep. 22, 2021

We gathered at the Peace Corps nurses' quarters after dinner, talking well into the evening and sharing our successes and obstacles and brainstorming, much like a college bull session.

From US News • Sep. 29, 2016

“From what Al told me, you all had quite a little lethal bull session late one night—the same night you made that tape, I believe.”

From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger