cock-and-bull story

[kok-uhn-bool]

noun

1. 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.

cock-and-bull story

noun

1. informal,  an obviously improbable story, esp a boastful one or one used as an excuse

cock-and-bull story

1. 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.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of cock and bull story¹

First recorded in 1600–10; probably with original reference to some fable in which a cock and bull figure

Idioms and Phrases

An unbelievable tale that is intended to deceive; a tall tale. For example, Jack told us some cock and bull story about getting lost. This expression may come from a folk tale involving these two animals, or from the name of an English inn where travelers told such tales. W.S. Gilbert used it in The Yeomen of the Guard (1888), where Jack Point and Wilfred the Jailer make up a story about the hero's fictitious death: “Tell a tale of cock and bull, Of convincing detail full.” [c. 1600]

Example Sentences

“I beg pardon, sir; it was not a—not a—not a—” “Cock-and-bull story, Mr Herrick,” said the captain, smiling at my confusion, for I had rushed into the gap.

From Project Gutenberg