Word of the day

canard \kuh-NAHRD\, noun: 1. An unfounded, false, or fabricated report or story. 2. A horizontal control and stabilizing surface mounted forward of the main wing of an aircraft. 3. An aircraft whose horizontal stabilizer is mounted forward of the main wing.

In French canard means "duck" or "false news; hoax." The latter sense of the word probably comes from the phrase vendre un canard à moitié, "to half-sell a duck" -- which is to say, not to sell it at all, hence "to take in, to make a fool of."