spin a yarn

Idioms  

1. Tell a story, especially a long drawn-out or totally fanciful one, as in This author really knows how to spin a yarn, or Whenever he's late he spins some yarn about a crisis. Originally a nautical term dating from about 1800, this expression probably owes its life to the fact that it embodies a double meaning, yarn signifying both “spun fiber” and “a tale.”

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Example Sentences

Miller can still spin a yarn some four years after retiring following a 30-year run as NBC’s unfiltered lead analyst.

From Washington Times • Jun. 14, 2023

Spoiler alert: Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen are likable guys, who can spin a yarn.

From Slate • Mar. 12, 2021

“To me, there is probably not a greater storyteller as a play-by-play person. He can spin a yarn like nobody else, and it made games definitely more enjoyable to watch.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 25, 2017

They are both, that is to say, resounding testaments from British dramatists to the particular power of live theater to spin a yarn that ties an audience in knots.

From New York Times • Feb. 14, 2016

Story-telling was his hobby, and it had often been said by his friends that he would rather spin a yarn than eat.

From Dave Porter and His Rivals or, The Chums and Foes of Oak Hall by Goss, John

Related Words

• describe
• detail
• disclose
• present
• reveal