A canard is an idea or a piece of information that is false, especially one that is spread deliberately in order to harm someone or their work.
The charge that Harding was a political stooge may be a canard.
canard in British English
(kæˈnɑːd, French kanar)
noun
1.
a false report; rumour or hoax
2.
an aircraft in which the tailplane is mounted in front of the wing
Word origin
C19: from French: a duck, hoax, from Old French caner to quack, of imitative origin
canard in American English
(kəˈnɑrd)
noun
1.
a false, esp. malicious, report that has been fabricated with the intention of doing harm
2.
a.
an airplane whose horizontal stabilizer is located forward of the wing or wings
b.
the horizontal control and stabilizing surfaces in such an aircraft
Word origin
Fr, a duck, hoax; prob. < can, echoic for duck's quack + -ard, -ard; short for (vendre) un canard (à moitié), lit., (to half-sell) a duck, i.e., to cheat
Examples of 'canard' in a sentence
canard
A particularly delicious terrine de foie de canard frais had barely been touched.