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

See Examples For:

spin a yarn

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

Clocking in at 2 hours and 15 minutes, her set allowed fans to methodically appreciate her talent to spin a yarn, twirl in place and sing 19 tunes in that unique vocal style.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 16, 2016

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

It would only increase the boy’s nervousness, and convince him only more of the fact that he could not spin a yarn.

From Famous Flyers And Their Famous Flights by J. J. Grayson

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