Irish bull

English

Etymology

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Noun

Irish bull (plural Irish bulls)

  1. A ludicrous, incongruent or logically absurd statement.
    • 1878 October 1, John Oxenford, “Lord Dundreary”, in The Theater: A Monthly Review and Magazine, volume 1, London: Wyman & Sons, pages 198–199:
      Like the argot once confined to a class, some of his phrases have become part of the general idiom. A Dundrearyism can be recognized as soon as uttered, like an Irish bull.

See also
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