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cock-and-bull story

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cock-and-bull story

[kok-uhn-bool]
–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:
1600–10; prob. with orig. reference to some fable in which a cock and bull figure
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To cock-and-bull story
cock-and-bull story   (kŏk'ən-bŏŏl')   
n.  An absurd or highly improbable tale passed off as being true.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

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.”

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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