make a long story short

Idioms  

1. Get to the point, as in To make a long story short, they got married and moved to Omaha. Although the idea of abbreviating a long-winded account is ancient, this precise phrase dates only from the 1800s. Henry David Thoreau played on it in a letter of 1857: “Not that the story need be long, but it will take a long time to make it short.”

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Example Sentences

To make a long story short, in this book Lewis doesn’t exercise any.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 2, 2023

“To make a long story short, I almost lost my wife, my ‘67 Corvette, and my cat,” he continued.

From Washington Times • Aug. 30, 2023

"To make a long story short, everyone loved the smoked turkey, and I am now responsible for the one-and-only turkey each year," Hill adds.

From Fox News • Nov. 21, 2021

In this case, to make a long story short, the Hudson River waterfront park needed to replace a pier where it once raised money with events.

From Slate • Jun. 7, 2021

To make a long story short, I started going out with her.

From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote

Related Words

• abbreviate
• compress
• curtail
• cut
• cut back
• cut down
• lessen
• minimize
• reduce
• shrink
• slash
• trim