canard
/kəˈnɑːd
/ /ˈkanɑːd /noun
1An unfounded rumour or story: the old canard that LA is a cultural wasteland...
- There are indeed problems in graphic design education, and one of them is the lack of emphasis on basic writing and research skills, but the old canard about illiterate designers simply perpetuates an incorrect stereotype.
- Tim Blair has a wonderful dissection of the old canard about how offensive things are good because they ‘make you think’.
- If anything proves the old canard that most psychiatrists are crazier than their patients, it is the egregious Finch.
2A small wing-like projection attached to an aircraft forward of the main wing to provide extra stability or control, sometimes replacing the tail.Many of their innovations - such as canards, boundary layer control, sweptwings, variable wings, jet engines, and more - are widely used today and accepted as industry standards....
- North American built the Hound Dog with a canard, a delta wing configuration, an underslung J52 engine, and a self-contained inertial autonavigational guidance system.
- To reduce the wing trim drag, the fuselage was fitted with lateral surfaces called chines, which actually converted the forward fuselage into a fixed canard which developed lift.
Origin
Mid 19th century: from French, literally 'duck', also 'hoax', from Old French caner 'to quack'.