cock-and-bull
Patently absurd tale-type
A cock-and-bull story is a far-fetched, implausible tale—the kind of explanation someone offers when they're clearly making things up: He gave me some cock-and-bull story about his car breaking down.
The phrase usually implies the speaker doesn't believe what they're hearing.
Almost always appears as cock-and-bull story.
Wildly exaggerated story
- yarnTwisted strand for crafts
- whopperOutsized thing or untruth
- fibTrivial, harmless falsehood
- inventionNew device or method
concoction · fiction · falsehood · untruth · made-up · lie · story · fantasy
Inviting scorn through absurdity
- outlandishStrikingly weird or foreign-seeming
- preposterousCompletely contrary to reason
- ludicrousAbsurdly unreasonable or inappropriate
- implausibleUnlikely to be true
incredible · unbelievable · fantastical · outrageous · wild · bizarre · fanciful · improbable
Fabricated motive concealing truth
- alibiDefense of location
- cover storyFalse explanation for actions
- explanationStatement making something clear
- justificationReason proving rightness
rationalization · dodge · evasion · smokescreen · deflection · runaround · stalling · implausible
tall tale
Wildly exaggerated story
invention · concoction · fiction · falsehood · untruth · made-up · lie · story · fantasy · exaggeration
ridiculous
Inviting scorn through absurdity
- outlandishStrikingly weird or foreign-seeming
- preposterousCompletely contrary to reason
- ludicrousAbsurdly unreasonable or inappropriate
implausible · incredible · unbelievable · fantastical · outrageous · wild · bizarre · fanciful · improbable · unlikely
pretext
Fabricated motive concealing truth
- alibiDefense of location
- cover storyFalse explanation for actions
- explanationStatement making something clear
justification · rationalization · dodge · evasion · smokescreen · deflection · runaround · stalling · implausible · unconvincing
- unbelievableunbelievable, incredible, inconceivable, implausible, unthinkable
cock-and-bullcredible
Worthy of acceptance
plausible · believable · truthful · factual · true
cock-and-bullstraightforward
Clear and uncomplicated
plausible · coherent · logical · sensible · reasonable