Irish bull
Encyclopedia
An Irish bull is a ludicrous, incongruent or logic
ally absurd statement, generally unrecognized as such by its author.
The addition of the epithet Irish is a late addition.
The "Irish bull" is to the sense of a statement what the dangling participle is to the syntax. A jarring or amusing absurdity is created by hastiness or lack of attention to speech or writing.
Although, strictly speaking, Irish bulls are so structured grammatically as to be logically meaningless, their actual effect upon listeners is usually to give vivid illustrations to obvious truths. Hence, as John Pentland Mahaffy
, Provost of Trinity College, Dublin, famously 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
,
who once asked "Why we should 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
.
Samuel Goldwyn
was a famous American mis-speaker, as was Yogi Berra
.
The Irish bull can be a potent form of self-conscious equivocation and satire in the hands of a wit's sharp tongue. As such, it is associated particularly with new or marginalized populations, such as the Irish in Britain in the nineteenth century, or the Jews and Germans in America in the Early Twentieth Century.
boul "fraud, deceit, trickery", Icelandic
bull "nonsense", Middle English
bull "falsehood", or the verb bull "befool, mock, cheat".
The Irish were supposedly peculiarly prone to such expressions due to their volubility, their taste for colourful metaphors, and their ignorance (or conversely excessive command) of the English language. Extensive use of Irish bulls are made of by American Jewish humorists, from the period when large numbers of recent Jewish immigrants from Germany
or Eastern Europe
were present in American cities, which suggests that a similar effect produced the term "Irish bull", which is partly contemptuous and partly homage
.
However, as the Oxford Dictionary points out, the word bull epithet is a 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.
- "Red Will" Danaher, film character
- Missy Jaroneski, former VP of IT (company undisclosed).
- Samuel Goldwyn, movie producer (1882–1974)
- Yogi Berra, baseball player (1925- )
- Anonymous
-Anonymous
-Anonymous
-Anonymous
-Brian Jacques, Martin the Warrior
-Anonymous
-Anonymous
Logic
In philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...
ally absurd statement, generally unrecognized as such by its author.
The addition of the epithet Irish is a late addition.
The "Irish bull" is to the sense of a statement what the dangling participle is to the syntax. A jarring or amusing absurdity is created by hastiness or lack of attention to speech or writing.
Although, strictly speaking, Irish bulls are so structured grammatically as to be logically meaningless, their actual effect upon listeners is usually to give vivid illustrations to obvious truths. Hence, as John Pentland Mahaffy
John Pentland Mahaffy
The Rev. John Pentland Mahaffy GBE CVO was an Irish classicist and polymathic scholar.-Education and interests:...
, Provost of Trinity College, Dublin, famously 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
Boyle Roche
Sir Boyle Roche, 1st Baronet was an Irish politician. After a distinguished career in North America with the British Army, Roche became a member of the Irish House of Commons in 1775, generally acting in support of the viceregal government...
,
who once asked "Why we should 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
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Irish-born playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For thirty-two years he was also a Whig Member of the British House of Commons for Stafford , Westminster and Ilchester...
model for Mrs Malaprop
Malapropism
A malapropism is an act of misusing or the habitual misuse of similar sounding words, especially with humorous results. An example is Yogi Berra's statement: "Texas has a lot of electrical votes," rather than "electoral votes".-Etymology:...
.
Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn was an American film producer, and founding contributor executive of several motion picture studios.-Biography:...
was a famous American mis-speaker, as was Yogi Berra
Yogi Berra
Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra is a former American Major League Baseball catcher, outfielder, and manager. He played almost his entire 19-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...
.
The Irish bull can be a potent form of self-conscious equivocation and satire in the hands of a wit's sharp tongue. As such, it is associated particularly with new or marginalized populations, such as the Irish in Britain in the nineteenth century, or the Jews and Germans in America in the Early Twentieth Century.
Origin
The derivation of "bull" in this sense is unclear. It may be related to Old FrenchOld French
Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century...
boul "fraud, deceit, trickery", Icelandic
Icelandic language
Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
bull "nonsense", Middle English
Middle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
bull "falsehood", or the verb bull "befool, mock, cheat".
The Irish were supposedly peculiarly prone to such expressions due to their volubility, their taste for colourful metaphors, and their ignorance (or conversely excessive command) of the English language. Extensive use of Irish bulls are made of by American Jewish humorists, from the period when large numbers of recent Jewish immigrants from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
or Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
were present in American cities, which suggests that a similar effect produced the term "Irish bull", which is partly contemptuous and partly homage
Homage
Homage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....
.
However, as the Oxford Dictionary points out, the word bull epithet is a 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.
Examples
- "He'll regret it till his dying day, if ever he lives that long."
- "Red Will" Danaher, film character
- "These are your three Number One priorities."
- Missy Jaroneski, former VP of IT (company undisclosed).
- "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."
- Yogi Berra, baseball player (1925- )
- "He'd be turning in his grave if he were alive today."
- Anonymous
- "Hold me back while I hit him."
-Anonymous
- "It would be a lovely day if it wasn't for the weather."
-Anonymous
- "He had a sword in each hand and a rifle in the other."
-Anonymous
- "I'll cut off'n yer 'ead an' throw it in yer face."
-Brian Jacques, Martin the Warrior
- "Thank God I'm an atheist."
-Anonymous
- "A wilderness is where the hand of man has never set foot."
-Anonymous