shoot the bull en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Meanings
-
(idiomatic) To chinwag; to talk idly.
Shooting the bull with Benny and Elvira while Nelson skitters around out there in the lake of rooftops, selling used cars like hotcakes.
1990, John Updike, Rabbit at Rest:1976-1977, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure I didn't get what this group therapy was all about, it seemed to me it was just a bunch of people shooting the bull.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| shooting the bull | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| shot the bull | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| shot the bull | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| shoots the bull | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic |
Synonyms
throw the bull · shoot the shit · throw the bull around · shoot the breeze