What is the origin of the phrase cock and Bull story?

Answer 1

1621, probably an allusion to Aesop's Fables, direct sourcing unknown. See also French expression 'coq-al'ane' mid. 17th. Cent.
Answer:

In Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire, England, there are two old hotels, The Cock and The Bull, which provided rest and refreshment to the travellers using the many stage coaches between London and the North West along the A5. As explained by the Cock Hotel website " travellers staying at the hotel and the adjacent Bull vied with each other in the telling of outrageous 'tales of the road' from whence the famous phrase a Cock and Bull Story derives".

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Answer:

The image of stories told at a British public house is an appealing one (and it's a good one for English tourism), but it's not clear whether this is the real origin of "cock and bull." There is an expression in French, du coq-à-l'âne,which means to change the subject abruptly "from rooster to donkey." It's pretty certain this expression made it to the British Isles, surviving today in Scots as "cockalayne" describing a rambling story. Many word buffs speculate that the real origin might be Aesop's fables, or at least the inspiration they gave to French poet Clément Marot who penned Epistre du Coq en l'Asne in 1531.
It has been said that the origins of 'a cock and bull story' come from the tales told by the travelers drinking in 'The Cock' (a pub on Stony Stratford High Street, Buckinghamshire), then moving location across the road to 'The Bull' where the stories would become more exaggerated as the alcohol took effect.

Answer 2

It means whomever is telling the story is lying or misinformed.

Answer 3

Don't give me a cock-and-bull story, young man; tell me exactly where you've been when you were supposed to be doing your homework!