horsefeathers

Etymology
The "nonsense" sense, a euphemism for, is , a nonexistent item as only birds have feathers. Compare.

The "horse hair" sense notes the similarity of that hair to bird feathers.

Regarding the roofing sense, compare feathering strip and horsefeathers.

Synonyms

 * ,, ; see also Thesaurus:bullshit

Noun

 * 1)  (singular not used)

Noun

 * 1)  Nonsense; indicates disbelief.
 * Dismissing the rumors as "horsefeathers", he advised everybody to disregard them.
 * 1) Long hair on lower legs of a draft horse (e.g., Clydesdale), especially the rear legs.
 * 2) Feathering strips.
 * 3) * 1968 United States Customs Court, First Division, A. N. DERINGER, INC. v. UNITED STATES 287 F.Supp. 1016 (1968) August 8, 1968:
 * In summary, the record establishes that to produce horsefeathers one starts by sawing a log (longitudinally) into boards or planks, which are then likewise center resawn (longitudinally); that the original boards, as well as the center resawn boards, have at least two approximately parallel longitudinal sawed surfaces; that the resawn boards are simply resawn again longitudinally at an angle or bevel to produce horsefeathers; and that the only other sawing required is the crosscutting of the boards to length.
 * 1) * 1968 United States Customs Court, First Division, A. N. DERINGER, INC. v. UNITED STATES 287 F.Supp. 1016 (1968) August 8, 1968:
 * In summary, the record establishes that to produce horsefeathers one starts by sawing a log (longitudinally) into boards or planks, which are then likewise center resawn (longitudinally); that the original boards, as well as the center resawn boards, have at least two approximately parallel longitudinal sawed surfaces; that the resawn boards are simply resawn again longitudinally at an angle or bevel to produce horsefeathers; and that the only other sawing required is the crosscutting of the boards to length.

Usage notes
In “horse hair” sense, often referred to instead as, or , with hair on the front part narrowly referred to as.

Synonyms

 * See also Thesaurus:nonsense

Translations

 * Bulgarian:
 * Finnish:


 * Finnish: vuohiskarvat
 * Portuguese: