A "bull" is an imputation of stupidity made by the hearer through the
inadvertence of the speaker in whose mind there is no contradiction, but
a want of precision in thought or expression. It is a common error where
the imagination is stronger than the critical faculty.
The use of cant words renders jests imperfectly intelligible. Greek
humour was clearer in this respect than that of the present day,
especially since our vocabulary has been so much enriched from America.
Puns also restrict the pleasantries dependent on them to one country, no
great loss perhaps, though the greater part of German humour is thus
rendered obscure. "Remember," writes Lord Chesterfield, "that the wit,
humour, and jokes of most companies are local. They thrive in that
particular soil, but will not often bear transplanting. Every company is
differently circumstanced, has its peculiar cant and jargon, which may
give occasion to wit and mirth within the circle, but would seem flat
and insipid in any other, and therefore will not bear repeating. Nothing
makes a man look sillier than a pleasantry not relished, or not
understood, and if he meets with a profound silence when he expected a
general applause, or what is worse if he is desired to explain the _bon
mot_, his awkward and embarrassed situation is easier imagined than
described.
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