tell a different story
idiom
: to show that something different is true from what someone says is true
He said he wasn't at the scene of the crime, but the fingerprints tell a different story.
Examples of tell a different story in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
While some companies publicly distance themselves from ESG terminology, their actions tell a different story when faced with shareholder interests.
—
Suresh Basnet, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025
Despite speculation about the cast’s rising stardom in Hollywood with a yearn to tackle new projects on the horizon, contracts tell a different story.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 26 June 2025
But the Harbin skull still contains enough of its original proteins to tell a different story: A few of them matched specific proteins from Denisovan bones and teeth, as encoded in Denisovan DNA.
—ArsTechnica, 18 June 2025
Critics claim this software caused rent spikes, but economists and recent data tell a different story: prices rose due to a broader housing shortage and economy-wide inflation, not software.
—Jim Amann, Hartford Courant, 17 June 2025
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Suresh Basnet, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025
Despite speculation about the cast’s rising stardom in Hollywood with a yearn to tackle new projects on the horizon, contracts tell a different story.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 26 June 2025
But the Harbin skull still contains enough of its original proteins to tell a different story: A few of them matched specific proteins from Denisovan bones and teeth, as encoded in Denisovan DNA.
—ArsTechnica, 18 June 2025
Critics claim this software caused rent spikes, but economists and recent data tell a different story: prices rose due to a broader housing shortage and economy-wide inflation, not software.
—Jim Amann, Hartford Courant, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for tell a different story
Cite this Entry
“Tell a different story.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tell%20a%20different%20story. Accessed 6 Jul. 2025.
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