tall tale

Cultural  

1. An exaggerated, unreliable story: “My uncle claims that he was raised in a drainage ditch, but it's just another of his tall tales.”

---

tall tale Idioms  

1. A fanciful or greatly exaggerated story, as in Some youngsters love tall tales about creatures from outer space coming to earth. This idiom uses tall in the sense of “exaggerated.” [Mid-1800s]

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tall tale

Sixty summers later, I got to the bottom of a boys’ camp tall tale.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

At the same time, the new “Little House on the Prairie” counsels that independence is more of a tall tale than a reality for a nation healing from the wounds of conflict.

From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026

The preteen’s prank call came after an attorney for Carlee Russell admitted Monday that the Alabama woman spun a tall tale about her own abduction this month — which could also result in criminal charges.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 27, 2023

This isn’t some old-timer’s tall tale: Lori Ford has been walking two miles down a dirt road, with snow past her knees, just to get to work this month.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 9, 2023

Just a tall tale from long ago that didn’t have anything to do with me?

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool