【字面理解】公雞和公牛的故事
【英文解析】a story or explanation which is obviously not true
【中文解析】荒誕的故事、無稽之談、無傷大雅的謊言
【典型例句】① she couldn’t pay her debt, instead she told me 汪 cock and bull story about having been robbed.她還不 了債,還編了個(gè)彌天大謊說她遭劫了。
② Victor arrived late and told us some cock and bull story about his train catching fire.維克托返到了,卻對(duì)我們胡說他所坐的火車著火了。
【注釋】1620年左右,這個(gè)短語第一次出現(xiàn)。據(jù)說當(dāng)時(shí)英 國(guó)有一家公路旅館,店名就叫做疲 倦的旅行者在這兒過夜休息,他們經(jīng)常聚在一起侃大 山,講他們所經(jīng)歷的一些奇聞逸事。當(dāng)然,這些經(jīng)歷 不要求真實(shí),怎么奇特就怎么來。久而久之,cock and bull story就成了 “鬼話連篇”、“彌天大謊”的代名詞。