logic
Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...
ally absurd statement, generally unrecognized as such by its author. The inclusion of the epithet ''Irish'' is a late addition.
John Pentland Mahaffy
Sir John Pentland Mahaffy (26 February 1839 – 30 April 1919) was an Irish classicist and polymathic scholar who served as the 34th Provost of Trinity College Dublin from 1914 to 1919.
Early life and education
He was born near Vevey in Switzer ...
, Provost of Trinity College, Dublin, observed, "an Irish bull is always pregnant", i.e. with truthful meaning.
The "father" of the Irish bull is often said to be Sir
Boyle Roche
Sir Boyle Roche, 1st Baronet (October 1736, as cited in
Some sources, including earlier versions of the ''Dictionary of National Biography'', give the date as 1743. However, since the later date would make Roche rather young to have served wit ...
,
who once asked "Why should we put ourselves out of our way to do anything for posterity, for what has posterity ever done for us?". Roche may have been Sheridan's model for Mrs Malaprop.
Origin
The derivation of "bull" in this sense is unclear. It may be related to
Old French
Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th Icelandic ''bull'' "nonsense", Middle English">Icelandic language">Icelandic ''bull'' "nonsense", Middle English ''bull'' "falsehood", or the verb ''bull'' "befool, mock, cheat".
As the Oxford English Dictionary points out, the epithet "Irish" is a more recent addition, the original word ''bull'' for such nonsense having been traced back at least to the early 17th century. By the late 19th century the expression ''Irish bull'' was well known, but writers were expressing reservations such as: "But it is a cruel injustice to poor Paddy to speak of the genuine 'bull' as something distinctly Irish, when countless examples of the same kind of blunder, not a whit less startling, are to be found elsewhere." The passage continues, presenting Scottish, English and French specimens in support.Brown, Marshall (1894). ''Bulls and Blunders'' (2nd ed.). Chicago: S. C. Griggs & Co.
Examples
*"He'll regret it till his dying day, if ever he lives that long." – "Red" Will Danaher, in ''The Quiet Man''
*"If I could drop dead right now, I'd be the happiest man alive." – Samuel Goldwyn, movie producer (1882–1974)
*"Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't come to yours." – Misattributed to
Yogi Berra
Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (born Lorenzo Pietro Berra; May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of Manager (baseball), manager and Coach (baseball), coach. He played 19 seas ...
, baseball player (1925–2015)
*"There'll be people dying in this town who've never f---ing died before" – Belfast taxi driver
*"to make an Irish bull, I should expect the next stage in Evolution not to be a stage in Evolution at all" –
C.S. Lewis
CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to:
Job titles
* Chief Secretary (Hong Kong)
* Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces
* Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public se ...
, in ''
Mere Christianity
''Mere Christianity'' is a Christian apologetical book by the British author C. S. Lewis. It was adapted from a series of BBC radio talks made between 1941 and 1944, originally published as three separate volumes: ''Broadcast Talks'' (1942), ' ...
''Lewis, C. S. 2012. ''Mere Christianity''. C. S. Lewis Signature Classic. London, England: William Collins.
Bull
A bull is an intact (i.e., not Castration, castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e. cows proper), bulls have long been an important symbol cattle in r ...