Friday, October 13, 2023

Question of the Day #1020

The livestock industry has cooked up a cock-and-bull story about how wild horses are the primary threat to land health in the West.
From the 2nd paragraph of this article at The Wildlife News.

  上記の文で、cock-and-bull storyの意味は?
In the sentence above, what does "cock-and-bull story" mean?

  答えは、コメントに書いてください。
Write your answer in the Comments.

明日、ここに答えを書きます。
I will add the answer and other remarks here tomorrow.

 


   

解答

意味:
英辞郎によると、
うそ(の話)、ナンセンス、でたらめ、作り話、眉唾物
   

Answer

According to The Cambridge Dictionary:
a story that is obviously not true, especially one given as an excuse
 

語源

英辞郎によると
ロンドンとバーミンガムの間にある駅馬車の宿屋The CockとThe Bullからという説や、おんどりと雄牛が登場する古い民話からとする説などがある。
なお、Grammaristの語源の説明には、フランス語のcoq-a-l’âne(雄鶏とロバ)に由来してロバが雄牛に変えられたという説があるとしています。  

Etymology

According to Grammarist:
One story credits two coaching inns that were located in Stony Stratford, one named The Cock and one named The Bull. Guests would supposedly banter back and forth between the two inns, telling ever more outrageous stories. There does not seem to be much truth in this etymological theory. A more plausible origin is a French expression, coq-a-l’âne, which is defined as a garbled story that is passed from one party to another. Literally, coq-a-l’âne translates as rooster to jackass. For some reason, the latter animal changed from a jackass to a bull in English usage. Finally, some believe that the term cock and bull story referred to an actual genre of stories starring roosters and bulls, which are now lost.
   

Examples

   

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