a long story
noun
: a description of how something happened that is complicated to explain
"Why are you late?" "It's a long story. I'll tell you later."
Examples of a long story in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
To make a long story short, the missing money was shifted to an insurance company (and Monty maxed out coverage on the house and planes) to avoid paying any income tax.
—
Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 14 Dec. 2025
To make a long story short, I frequent comic stores.
—Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 3 Oct. 2025
Heinola had great luck in terms of making the NHL early, poor luck with injuries and a long story with ups and downs in between.
—Murat Ates, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Bianca He / Newsweek The bankruptcy marked the lowest point in a long story of urban decline and disrepair, during which the city lost more than 200,000 residents in a decade.
—Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
And, to make a long story short, birds see these colors.
—Quanta Magazine, 21 Aug. 2025
To make a long story short: After a few (split) U.S. Supreme Court decisions, including a blistering dissent by none other than Justice Thurgood Marshall, U.S. law makes an exception to the Fourth Amendment for Americans’ financial records due to something called the third-party doctrine.
—Norbert Michel, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025
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Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 14 Dec. 2025
To make a long story short, I frequent comic stores.
—Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 3 Oct. 2025
Heinola had great luck in terms of making the NHL early, poor luck with injuries and a long story with ups and downs in between.
—Murat Ates, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Bianca He / Newsweek The bankruptcy marked the lowest point in a long story of urban decline and disrepair, during which the city lost more than 200,000 residents in a decade.
—Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
And, to make a long story short, birds see these colors.
—Quanta Magazine, 21 Aug. 2025
To make a long story short: After a few (split) U.S. Supreme Court decisions, including a blistering dissent by none other than Justice Thurgood Marshall, U.S. law makes an exception to the Fourth Amendment for Americans’ financial records due to something called the third-party doctrine.
—Norbert Michel, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“A long story.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/a%20long%20story. Accessed 21 Dec. 2025.
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