Irish bull

American  

noun

1. a paradoxical statement that appears at first to make sense. Example: He's the kind of guy who looks you right in the eye as he stabs you in the back.

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Irish bull British  

noun

1. a ludicrously illogical statement See also bull 2

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Etymology

Origin of Irish bull

First recorded in 1795–1805

Example Sentences

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

I therefore assigned as his theme the problem, "How to sacrifice an Irish bull to a Greek goddess."

From Reminiscences, 1819-1899 by Howe, Julia Ward

The expected boy was a girl—if I may be pardoned an Irish bull.

From My Life in Many States and in Foreign Lands Dictated in My Seventy-Fourth Year by Train, George Francis

But it is the rarest thing to encounter a genuine Irish "bull" which is not picturesque and at the same time highly suggestive.

From The Glories of Ireland by Lennox, P. J.