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

Actually, the more data, the more unconnected pieces of information can be woven together to spin a yarn of almost anything.

From New York Times • Dec. 21, 2014

I remember hearing a fellow spin a yarn once about how he had escaped being ill at sea, by tying a handkerchief over his eyes so that he couldn't see the jiggle-joggling of the water.

From Harper's Young People, October 5, 1880 An Illustrated Weekly by Various

Related Words

• describe
• detail
• disclose
• present
• reveal