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Hey all! This is the second weekly English learning challenge: to try & use this idiom in your next lesson, study session, or in a natural conversation!
(to make a) long story short
meaning: to summarize, to explain something quickly, to shorten a longer story
usage: either before recounting a long and complicated story, or after as a sort of conclusion to what you were telling
image: Imagine a full novel or book that you're cutting the important pieces out of & arranging into a shorter story. It's not the same amount of information, but it's the highlights.
Examples:
- ... and then we all fell asleep! Well, to make a long story short, we were exhausted after that absolutely ridiculous series of events!
- To make a long story short, I really need your help with this project since I've bitten off more than I can chew.
- A: "What did you do last weekend?"
B: "Oh, not much. You?"
A: "I lazed around the house, then felt guilty and started to deep clean. But then I didn't get much done 'cause I got sidetracked by a really cool YouTube video about AI psychosis... Long story short... not much."
Similar: TL;DR
TL;DR stands for "too long; didn't read," which is often used in online spaces to make a long story short since folks don't often read paragraphs of text thoroughly. Frequently seen on tumblr or reddit, but also elsewhere.
P.S. If you want to pratice any of the idioms bolded in this column, feel free to schedule a lesson with me!
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