WHAT IS the origin and meaning of the expression `cock and bull story?
(K. Balaji, Chennai) When you say that someone gave you a `cock and bull story’, what you are implying is that the individual told you a story that was unbelievable; he told you a story that was obviously a lie. People often resort to cock and bull stories when they want to come up with an excuse for not having done something. Here are a few examples. *When I asked Namrata why she hadn’t done her assignment, she gave me some cock and bull story about being abducted by aliens. *When the Chairman asked for an explanation, all he got from the Vice President was some cock and bull story. There are several explanations as to the origin of this expression. Some scholars believe that the idiom has its origins in the fables that we all read as children; stories in which animals behave and talk like human beings. Such stories are often considered to be unrealistic by people who are very practical in their outlook. They can’t believe that animals like lions, bulls, foxes, etc can actually talk.
