tall tale; cock-and-bull story; bullshit
Refers to an exaggerated, boastful, or completely made-up story. ほらを吹く (to boast/tell tall tales) is a common related expression. The gloss 'bullshit' is vulgar and should be used with caution.
His story is just a tall tale anyway.
That person is always telling tall tales.
Common mixed kana-kanji spelling; the kana portion ほら is standard for this word.
Katakana variant of the ほら portion, sometimes used for emphasis or in casual writing.
Full kanji spelling using 法螺 (conch shell, associated with blowing one's own horn); rarely used in modern writing.
From ほら (conch shell, from the image of blowing one's own horn) + 話 (story). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term is conventionally associated with boasting.