Irish bull
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of Irish bull
First recorded in 1795–1805
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Last week a Catholic philosopher was hooked by an Irish bull.
From Time Magazine Archive
To employ an Irish bull, the chief event of last week was one that didn't happen.
From Time Magazine Archive
The mystery of the sign lay in the fact that no feed was in sight, and if it referred back to the flat, then it was in the nature of an Irish bull.
From The Trail of the Goldseekers A Record of Travel in Prose and Verse by Hamlin Garland
“Dead men don’t move,” replied the captain sharply, the hands round grinning at the boatswain’s Irish bull.
From Afloat at Last A Sailor Boy's Log of his Life at Sea by William Heysham Overend
We do not perpetrate an Irish bull when we say that the distance to a place is often greater than the distance in returning.
From The Continental Monthly, Vol. 4, No. 1, July, 1863 Devoted to Literature and National Policy by Various
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
