Have you ever been told a cock and bull story?

[muna]

If someone tells a cock and bull story, it means he or she is narrating an interesting but rather amusing and/or unbelievable tale —and, more often than not, using it as an excuse!

E.g. “She told a cock and bull story about her dog eating her homework.”

The phrase has a French variation, coq-a-l'ane (=cock to donkey), and there’s also a Scottish derivative of that French variation, cockalayne.

There are different theories regarding the origins of this British idiom. Some sources suggest that the phrase came up when, in the 18th and early 19th centuries, coaches carried travelers to one of two inns that were close to each other on the old London Road at Stony Stratford, England. One of the inns was called The Cock and the other one The Bull. It is said that rivalries arose between the groups of travelers who favored one inn over the other and so boastful and fanciful tales were exchanged, which later became known as “cock and bull stories”.

However, the most likely explanation —and, in fact, the most widely accepted— is that the phrase refers to old folk tales or fables featuring talking animals. This theory is apparently corroborated by the Scottish derivative cockalayne, which means “fantastic or satirical story”.

The most frequent Spanish translation for this idiom is cuento chino, although cuento chico and cuento camelo are also used.

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