Irish bull


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.

Origin of Irish bull

1
First recorded in 1795–1805

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Irish bull in a sentence

  • Among the stock jokes it is oft averred The Irish bull is best of all the heard.

    A Phenomenal Fauna | Carolyn Wells
  • The first tickled me exceedingly, as a genuine specimen of the so-called Irish bull.

British Dictionary definitions for Irish bull

Irish bull

noun
  1. a ludicrously illogical statement: See also bull 2

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012