Shoot the bull

Posted by RRC on December 06, 2005

In Reply to: Shoot the bull posted by Lewis on December 06, 2005

: : where did "shoot the bull" come from

: : steve

: early dart boards were the ends of barrels and some bright spark decided to paint concentric rings to make it more challenging. the original "bulls-eye" was black and white, not the red-green used today. a bull's eye is a roundel of black with white outside - hence the comparison.

: shooting at "the bull" is short for aiming for "the bull's-eye"

: hope that helps.

: L

"Shoot the bull" is small talk, chatting - usually used for talk amongst men - also "shoot the ****." We're going to go down to the bar, toss back some cold ones and shoot the bull until the game starts. RRC

• "Shoot the bull" Lewis 08/December/05