coq-à-l'âne

French

Etymology

Ellipsis of passer du coq à l'âne (“to go from the rooster to the donkey”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔ.ka.l‿an/ ~ /kɔ.ka.l‿ɑn/

Noun

coq-à-l'âne m (invariable)

1. satire, incoherent story

Descendants

• ⇒ Scots: cockalane

References

• “coq-à-l'âne”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012