Word of the Day Archive
Wednesday September 17, 2003
canard \kuh-NAHRD\ , noun:
1. An unfounded, false, or fabricated report or story.
2. A horizontal control and stabilizing surface mounted forward of the main wing of an aircraft.
3. An aircraft whose horizontal stabilizer is mounted forward of the main wing.
This is just a canard that is assumed to be true because it has been repeated so often.
-- Bruce Bartlett, "Lower Taxes Higher Revenue?", National Review, March 13, 2003
Loath as I am to resurrect the old canard accusing writers or critics who dislike a popular work of art of being jealous, in Byatt's case, it might be true.
-- Charles Taylor, quoted in Rowling books "for people with stunted imaginations", The Guardian, July 11, 2003
Several students say they still believe the canard that no Americans died in Bali -- in fact, six did.
-- Phil Zabriskie, "Did You Hear...?", Time Asia, February 1, 2003
Whether this was true (which seems improbable) or was one of Lawrence's numerous canards (which seems very possible), it appears that Father did intend to strike camp at some time.
-- Douglas Botting, Gerald Durrell: The Authorized Biography
In French canard means "duck" or "false news; hoax." The latter sense of the word probably comes from the phrase vendre un canard à moitié, "to half-sell a duck" -- which is to say, not to sell it at all, hence "to take in, to make a fool of."
Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for canard
