Did you know?
In 16th-century France, vendre des canards à moitié was a colorful way of saying "to fool" or "to cheat." The French phrase means, literally, "to half-sell ducks." No one now knows just what was meant by "to half-sell"; the saying was probably based on some story widely known at the time, but the details have not survived. Lost stories aside, the expression led to the use of canard, the French word for "duck," to refer to a hoax or fabrication. English speakers adopted this canard in the mid-1800s. The aeronautical sense of canard, used from the early days of flying, comes from the stubby duck-like appearance of the aircraft.
Examples of canard in a Sentence
Miguel Otárola, Denver Post, 22 May 2025
Through the use of a long, narrow airframe and canards, the X-59 is able to reduce the noise that reaches the ground from sonic booms generated as the aircraft crosses the speed of sound.
—Robert Z. Pearlman, Space.com, 20 May 2025
Up front and then again at least twice in the body of the book, Sam repeats the canard that the best writers National Review ever produced were Garry Wills, Joan Didion, and John Leonard.
—Neal B. Freeman, National Review, 13 May 2025
Pair this with confit de canard or a three cheese lasagna.
—Tom Mullen, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for canard
Cite this Entry
“Canard.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/canard. Accessed 9 Jun. 2025.
Copy Citation
Share