phrases, sayings, idioms and expressions at

"shoot the bull"

Posted by Lewis on December 08, 2005

In Reply to: Shoot the bull posted by RRC 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

the "shooting" use is metaphorical - meaning to spend time idly, as if playing darts.
"talk bull" relates to BS - shouldn't confuse the two metaphors.

L

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