story

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noun

1. A recounting of past events: account, chronicle, description, history, narration, narrative, report, statement, version. See words.
2. A narrative not based on fact: fable, fiction. See real/imaginary.
3. The series of events and relationships forming the basis of a composition: plot, story line. See happen, words.
4. A usually brief detail of news or information: bit¹, item, paragraph, piece, squib. See words.
5. An entertaining and often oral account of a real or fictitious occurrence: anecdote, fable, tale. Informal tall tale, yarn. See words.
6. An untrue declaration: canard, cock-and-bull story, falsehood, falsity, fib, fiction, inveracity, lie², misrepresentation, misstatement, prevarication, tale, untruth. Informal fish story, tall tale. Slang whopper. See true/false.

Idioms beginning with story:
story of my life, the

In addition to the idiom beginning with story, also see cock and bull story; cover story; fish story; hard-luck story; make a long story short; old story; same old story; shaggy dog story; sob story; upper story.

n

Definition: lie
Antonyms: truth

story, in the everyday sense, any narrative or tale recounting a series of events. In modern narratology, however, the term refers more specifically to the sequence of imagined events that we reconstruct from the actual arrangement of a narrative (or dramatic) plot. In this modern distinction between story and plot, derived from Russian Formalism and its opposed terms fabula and sjuzet, the story is the full sequence of events as we assume them to have occurred in their likely order, duration, and frequency, while the plot is a particular selection and (re‐)ordering of these. Thus the story is the abstractly conceived ‘raw material’ of events which we reconstruct from the finished arrangement of the plot: it includes events preceding and otherwise omitted from the perceived action, and its sequence will differ from that of the plot if the action begins in medias res or otherwise involves an anachrony. As an abstraction, the story can be translated into other languages and media (e.g. film) more successfully than the style of the narration could be.

story

Volume between the floors of a building or between its floor and roof. Storeys are defined as basement (wholly or partly underground), ground (in the USA first and in France rez-de-chaussée), first (or piano nobile if containing the principal rooms), second, third, etc., then Attic (over the entablature of the principal façade). The volume within a roof-space is the garret rather than the Attic. Entresols and mezzanines are intermediate floors between the main storeys. Towers have stages rather than storeys, and, like storeys, are often identified by horizontal bands of mouldings, string-courses, cornices, etc. Storey-posts are the main posts in a timber-framed building, rising one storey.

A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce

n.

A narrative, commonly untrue. The truth of the stories here following has, however, not been successfully impeached.

    One evening Mr. Rudolph Block, of New York, found himself seated 
at dinner alongside Mr. Percival Pollard, the distinguished critic.
    "Mr. Pollard," said he, "my book, The Biography of a Dead Cow, 
is published anonymously, but you can hardly be ignorant of its 
authorship.  Yet in reviewing it you speak of it as the work of the 
Idiot of the Century.  Do you think that fair criticism?"
    "I am very sorry, sir," replied the critic, amiably, "but it did 
not occur to me that you really might not wish the public to know who 
wrote it."
    Mr. W.C. Morrow, who used to live in San Jose, California, was 
addicted to writing ghost stories which made the reader feel as if a 
stream of lizards, fresh from the ice, were streaking it up his back 
and hiding in his hair.  San Jose was at that time believed to be 
haunted by the visible spirit of a noted bandit named Vasquez, who had 
been hanged there.  The town was not very well lighted, and it is 
putting it mildly to say that San Jose was reluctant to be out o' 
nights.  One particularly dark night two gentlemen were abroad in the 
loneliest spot within the city limits, talking loudly to keep up their 
courage, when they came upon Mr. J.J. Owen, a well-known journalist.
    "Why, Owen," said one, "what brings you here on such a night as 
this?  You told me that this is one of Vasquez' favorite haunts!  And 
you are a believer.  Aren't you afraid to be out?"
    "My dear fellow," the journalist replied with a drear autumnal 
cadence in his speech, like the moan of a leaf-laden wind, "I am 
afraid to be in.  I have one of Will Morrow's stories in my pocket and 
I don't dare to go where there is light enough to read it."
    Rear-Admiral Schley and Representative Charles F. Joy were 
standing near the Peace Monument, in Washington, discussing the 
question, Is success a failure?  Mr. Joy suddenly broke off in the 
middle of an eloquent sentence, exclaiming:  "Hello!  I've heard that 
band before.  Santlemann's, I think."
    "I don't hear any band," said Schley.
    "Come to think, I don't either," said Joy; "but I see General 
Miles coming down the avenue, and that pageant always affects me in 
the same way as a brass band.  One has to scrutinize one's impressions 
pretty closely, or one will mistake their origin."
    While the Admiral was digesting this hasty meal of philosophy 
General Miles passed in review, a spectacle of impressive dignity.  
When the tail of the seeming procession had passed and the two 
observers had recovered from the transient blindness caused by its 
effulgence --
    "He seems to be enjoying himself," said the Admiral.
    "There is nothing," assented Joy, thoughtfully, "that he enjoys 
one-half so well."
    The illustrious statesman, Champ Clark, once lived about a mile 
from the village of Jebigue, in Missouri.  One day he rode into town 
on a favorite mule, and, hitching the beast on the sunny side of a 
street, in front of a saloon, he went inside in his character of 
teetotaler, to apprise the barkeeper that wine is a mocker.  It was a 
dreadfully hot day.  Pretty soon a neighbor came in and seeing Clark, 
said:
    "Champ, it is not right to leave that mule out there in the sun.  
He'll roast, sure! -- he was smoking as I passed him."
    "O, he's all right," said Clark, lightly; "he's an inveterate 
smoker."
    The neighbor took a lemonade, but shook his head and repeated that 
it was not right.
    He was a conspirator.  There had been a fire the night before:  a 
stable just around the corner had burned and a number of horses had 
put on their immortality, among them a young colt, which was roasted 
to a rich nut-brown.  Some of the boys had turned Mr. Clark's mule 
loose and substituted the mortal part of the colt.  Presently another 
man entered the saloon.
    "For mercy's sake!" he said, taking it with sugar, "do remove that 
mule, barkeeper:  it smells."
    "Yes," interposed Clark, "that animal has the best nose in 
Missouri.  But if he doesn't mind, you shouldn't."
    In the course of human events Mr. Clark went out, and there, 
apparently, lay the incinerated and shrunken remains of his charger. 
The boys idd not have any fun out of Mr. Clarke, who looked at the 
body and, with the non-committal expression to which he owes so much 
of his political preferment, went away.  But walking home late that 
night he saw his mule standing silent and solemn by the wayside in the 
misty moonlight.  Mentioning the name of Helen Blazes with uncommon 
emphasis, Mr. Clark took the back track as hard as ever he could hook 
it, and passed the night in town.
    General H.H. Wotherspoon, president of the Army War College, has a 
pet rib-nosed baboon, an animal of uncommon intelligence but 
imperfectly beautiful.  Returning to his apartment one evening, the 
General was surprised and pained to find Adam (for so the creature is 
named, the general being a Darwinian) sitting up for him and wearing 
his master's best uniform coat, epaulettes and all.
    "You confounded remote ancestor!" thundered the great strategist, 
"what do you mean by being out of bed after naps? -- and with my coat 
on!"
    Adam rose and with a reproachful look got down on all fours in the 
manner of his kind and, scuffling across the room to a table, returned 
with a visiting-card:  General Barry had called and, judging by an 
empty champagne bottle and several cigar-stumps, had been hospitably 
entertained while waiting.  The general apologized to his faithful 
progenitor and retired.  The next day he met General Barry, who said:
    "Spoon, old man, when leaving you last evening I forgot to ask you 
about those excellent cigars.  Where did you get them?"
    General Wotherspoon did not deign to reply, but walked away.
    "Pardon me, please," said Barry, moving after him; "I was joking 
of course.  Why, I knew it was not you before I had been in the room 
fifteen minutes."

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For a list of words related to story, see:

• Ornamental and Structural Parts - story: any entire level or floor of a building
• Journalism - story: single article appearing in periodical
• Devices, Techniques, and Elements - story: fictional narrative or dramatic plot
• Falsehood, Pretense, and Exaggeration - story: fabricated excuse, explanation, or evasion

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See words rhyming with "story."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Story.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Common misspelling(s) of story

• stroy
• sotyr
• sotry
• stoyr
• stoyr

Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - historie, beretning, fortælling, anekdote, handling, artikel
v. tr. - beskrive historisk

idioms:

• a different story    en anden historie, en anden sag
• not the whole story    ikke hele historien
• only part of the story    kun en del af historien
• somone's side of the story    en persons side af sagen
• story line    handling
• that's another story    det er en anden historie
• the same old story    den samme gamle historie
• the story goes    det siges, at, rygte vil, at
• to cut a long story short    gøre en lang fortælling kort

2.
n. - etage

Nederlands (Dutch)
verhaal, geschiedenis, smoes, verdieping alleen een deel van het verhaal iemands kant van het verhaal

Français (French)
1.
n. - histoire, récit, (gén) histoire, (Littérat) conte, (Journ) article, mensonge/histoire, rumeur, intrigue, scénario, action, (US) étage
v. tr. - raconter une histoire, peindre des scènes historiques

idioms:

• a different story    une autre histoire
• a long story    (être) toute une histoire
• not the whole story    ce n'est pas tout
• only part of the story    seulement une partie de l'histoire
• somone's side of the story    la version des faits de (qn)
• story line    intrigue, scénario
• that's another story    c'est une autre histoire
• the same old story    (être) toujours la même chose
• the story goes    les on-dit
• to cut a long story short    en bref
• to make a long story short    en bref

2.
n. - (US) étage

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Geschichte, Erzählung, Bericht, Märchen
v. - mit legendären od. historischen Szenen schmücken

idioms:

• a different story    etwas ganz anderes
• a long story    eine lange Geschichte
• not the whole story    noch nicht alles
• only part of the story    noch nicht alles
• somone's side of the story    jmds. Seite der Angelegenheit
• story line    Plot
• that's another story    das ist eine andere Geschichte
• the same old story    das alte Lied
• the story goes    man erzählt sich, daß
• to cut a long story short    um es kurz zu machen
• to make a long story short    kurz gesagt

2.
n. - Stockwerk

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ιστορία, διήγημα, αφήγημα, ανέκδοτο, ζήτημα, υπόθεση, διαδεδομένη φήμη, (δημοσιογραφική) είδηση ή ρεπορτάζ, παραμύθι, πλοκή (έργου κ.λπ.)
v. - διακοσμώ με ιστορικές παραστάσεις, εξιστορώ

idioms:

• a different story    διαφορετική ιστορία
• not the whole story    μέρος μόνο της ιστορίας
• only part of the story    μέρος μόνο της ιστορίας
• somone's side of the story    η δική του εκδοχή
• story line    κύρια πλοκή έργου
• that's another story    αυτό είναι διαφορετικό θέμα
• the same old story    η αιώνια ιστορία, το ίδιο βιολί
• the story goes    λέγεται ότι
• to cut a long story short    για να μη μακρηγορούμε

Italiano (Italian)
piano, racconto, fiaba, scappatoia

idioms:

• a different story    un'altra storia
• not the whole story    non tutta la verità
• only part of the story    solo parte della verità
• somone's side of the story    la sua versione dei fatti
• that's another story    un altro paio di maniche
• the same old story    sempre la stessa storia
• the story goes    si dice
• to cut a long story short    per farla breve

Português (Portuguese)
n. - história (f)

idioms:

• a different story    um caso diferente
• not the whole story    faltam detalhes
• only part of the story    apenas parte da história
• somone's side of the story    versão de alguém da história
• story line    conjunto principal de eventos ligados numa estória
• that's another story    isto é outra coisa
• the same old story    a mesma velha história de sempre
• the story goes    dizem que
• to cut a long story short    para encurtar a história

Русский (Russian)
повесть, рассказ, сюжет, история, предание, сказка, что-л. сказанное, сплетни, выдумка, газетный материал, лицо или событие, заслуживающее освещения в печати, этаж, ярус

idioms:

• a different story    совсем другое дело
• not the whole story    это еще не все
• only part of the story    это лишь одна сторона дела
• somone's side of the story    чья-то версия какого-л. события
• story line    фабула, основная сюжетная линия
• that's another story    это совсем другое дело, обстоятельства изменились
• the same old story    старая история, старая песня
• the story goes    говорят, ходит слух, что
• to cut a long story short    короче говоря, одним словом

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - historia, cuento, narración, piso, planta, relato, artículo, rumor, mentira
v. tr. - historiar, adornar con escenas históricas

idioms:

• a different story    harina de otro costal
• a long story    es una larga historia (no se desea hablar de eso)
• not the whole story    no se lo ha dicho todo
• only part of the story    sólo una parte de la historia
• somone's side of the story    una de las versiones de la historia
• story line    trama, argumento
• that's another story    esto es otro cantar
• the same old story    es la historia de siempre
• the story goes    según lo que se cuenta, se dice, corre el rumor
• to cut a long story short    en resumidas cuentas, en pocas palabras
• to make a long story short    en resumidas cuentas, en pocas palabras

2.
n. - planta

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - historia, berättelse, saga, sägen, anekdot, bakgrund, rykte, handling, osanning, påhitt
v. - att göra ryktbar

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 故事, 传说, 小说, 编成故事叙述, 用故事画装饰

idioms:

• a different story    另一回事, 情况不同
• not the whole story    只是部分情况, 不是全部情况
• only part of the story    只是部分情况, 不是全部情况
• somone's side of the story    各说各话
• story line    故事的本事, 情节
• that's another story    那是另外一件事
• the same old story    老套
• the story goes    事情是这样
• to cut a long story short    长话短说

2. 层, 楼

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 層, 樓

2.
n. - 故事, 傳說, 小說
v. tr. - 編成故事敘述, 用故事畫裝飾

idioms:

• a different story    另一回事, 情況不同
• not the whole story    只是部分情況, 不是全部情況
• only part of the story    只是部分情況, 不是全部情況
• somone's side of the story    各說各話
• story line    故事的本事, 情節
• that's another story    那是另外一件事
• the same old story    老套
• the story goes    事情是這樣
• to cut a long story short    長話短說

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 이야기, 줄거리, 역사
v. tr. - 이야기로 꾸미다, 이야기하다

idioms:

• a different story    딴판인 이야기, 줄거리가 없는
• the same old story    흔히 있는 이야기, 다 아는 이야기
• the story goes    소문에 의하면, 알고 있는 바에 의하면
• to cut a long story short    한마디로 말하면, 간추려서 말하자면

2.
n. - (건물의)층, 같은 층의 방, 같은 구획의 방

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 物語, 小説, 筋, 言い伝え, 噂, 記事, うそ, 階, 身の上話

idioms:

• story line    筋
• the story goes    という話だ

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) قصه, حكايه, روايه (فعل) يزين ( كتاب) بمشاهد مصورة من التاريخ جزء من الحقيقه حسب روايته‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮סיפור, מעשה, עלילה, כתבה, סיפור-בדים‬
v. tr. - ‮אייר בתמונות היסטוריות‬
n. - ‮קומה, דיוטה‬

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