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yarn

yarn

20 7.2
A long story that is probably not true
  • noun
  • /jɑrn/
  • Informal
translation icon : cuento
  • "We were all sitting up telling yarns around the campfire." "There's an interesting choice of words," Wilkes said.
  • spins a good yarn
  • a good yarn

And like the old yarn goes about pigs and mud as as the old yarn goes about pigs and mud.

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Examples

  • An imaginative and inventive storyteller, she surprised me by delighting these youngsters with some edge-of-their-seat yarns.

    Academic text (2004)
  • Read on and see how our Connecticut bard transmuted this small scene into a lovely yarn.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Anyway, that is the start of a damn good yarn right there...

  • I heard her spinning a yarn next to me.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • At first, Obama just wanted to spin a yarn that allowed him to escape responsibility.

    Blog text (23)
  • Maybe I'm just spinning a science fiction yarn, but what are your thoughts?

  • I was trying to read one of my ridiculous yarns, the kind I had built a career on.

  • Did he imagine the voyage would turn out like one of his yarns -- no damage done and him a hero?

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Ja, sure, we'll spin a few yarns tonight.

  • He told us a fascinating yarn about his adventures in the mountains.

Synonyms

story
vsyarn
1.0

An account of events told to entertain or inform

is more likely to be long and exaggerated rather than plain reporting
tale
vsyarn
591 1.0

A story that tells about events, often imaginary, in books or by people

is longer and often more exaggerated than that simple account
narrative
vsyarn
336 3.9

A story that describes connected events

is less formal and more likely to be long and exaggerated
saga
vsyarn
  • Literature
84 6.4

A long story about brave people or family history

is usually less formal and more exaggerated in personal retelling
tall tale
vsyarn
  • Literature
19 4.0

A story that says things are bigger or more amazing than they really are to be funny

is more likely to be a longer boastful or imaginative exaggeration
fairy tale
vsyarn
  • Informal
15 3.4

A made-up story told to hide the truth or deceive people

is usually less moralizing and more like a long boastful fabrication
fable
vsyarn
10 4.9

A false story told to trick or impress people

is less about moral teaching and more about entertaining exaggeration
fairytale
vsyarn
  • Informal
10 4.6

A made-up story used to avoid blame or trick people

is typically less formal and more like a long entertaining exaggeration
wild story
vsyarn
  • Informal
7 4.6

A very exciting tale that is often not true

tends to be longer and more openly fanciful than that exciting account
folk tale
vsyarn
6 2.7

An old story that people tell to each other in a community

is less tied to tradition and more like a personal exaggerated retelling
epic tale
vsyarn
  • Literature
1 5.2

A long story about heroes and their great adventures

is generally less formal and more gossiplike and exaggerated
tall story
vsyarn
  • Informal
1 7.3

A made-up tale that is hard to believe

is often similar but usually longer and more playful in exaggeration
fairy story
vsyarn
  • UK
1 5.5

A made up story told to hide the truth

is more conversational and more likely to be a lengthy exaggerated telling
whangdoodle of a story
vsyarn
  • Archaic
9.9

A made-up story told in a big, exciting way to amuse people

is similar but usually framed as a longer bragging or spinning of events
hogshit story
vsyarn
  • Offensive
9.9

A silly story that is clearly false and hard to believe

can be less blatantly false and more playfully exaggerated instead
Fibber's tale
vsyarn
  • Informal
9.7

A false story made to hide the truth

is often less malicious and more about amusing exaggeration than deceit

Antonyms

1.0

Something that can be shown to be true, not an opinion

1.4

The way things really are, not how we imagine or wish

Idioms

to spin a yarn
  • Informal
1 6.8

To tell a long made-up or exaggerated story

Compounds

3 1.0

A round mass of yarn made for knitting or crocheting

A long coil of yarn wound loosely for knitting or crocheting

carded yarn
  • Specialized
7.2

A thread made from fibers that are brushed so they line up, making it soft but a bit rough

melange yarn
  • Specialized
7.6

A yarn that combines at least two different fibers or colors

rope yarn
  • Specialized
7.4

A bundle of strong threads twisted to make rope

spun yarn
  • Specialized
7.7

A thin, light rope used on ships to tie or secure small things

Thread made from wool that has been colored for knitting or weaving

worsted yarn
  • Specialized
6.8

Smooth, strong thread made by tightly twisting long wool fibers for knitting and weaving

yarn-spinning
  • Informal
7.7

Tends to tell long, exciting stories about unlikely events

How Imaginative

tale
591 1.0
yarn
  • Informal
20 7.2
story
1.0
anecdote
102 4.1
account
466 3.0

Surface Forms

yarn singular
yarns plural

Etymology

Yarn as a noun for a long tale grew from the cloth meaning and the idea of 'spinning' tales, so a yarn is a long story that is often colourful or not completely true.