cock-and-bull story

[kok-uh n-boo l] /ˈkɒk ənˈbʊl/

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; probably with orig. reference to some fable in which a cock and bull figure

British Dictionary definitions for cock-and-bull story

noun

(informal) an obviously improbable story, esp a boastful one or one used as an excuse

cock-and-bull story in Culture

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.”

Slang definitions & phrases for cock-and-bull story

noun phrase

An improbable account, often an alibi; a mendacious farrago: He gives me this cock-and-bull story about six flat tires

[1620+; origin uncertain; the French term ''cock and donkey'' is analogous]