TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT – Meaning With Examples

This video gives the meaning of TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT and shows how to use this expression in the most common contexts.

Here is a transcript of the video: “The Meaning of TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT”

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The meaning of:
TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT – British
TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT – American

to explain something with few words, without giving all the details

Note: It is often used to quickly bring an end to an explanation.

Here is a snippet of conversation showing a typical example . . .

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The picture shows a girl on the phone.

Example: Girl: Nice to hear from you. It’s been a long time.

Friend: Yes, what’s going on with you?

Girl: Well, the big news is . . . I met this guy in university a few months ago. We started dating, and, you know . . . Well, to cut a long story short, we are getting married later this year.

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Or there may be an occasion when you don’t feel like going into a long explanation over something that has happened, especially if you have had to repeat the story many times to many different people.

Then you can just abbreviate it with the expression: “to cut a long story short” . . .

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The picture shows a woman in a wheel chair with a broken arm.

Here is a typical conversation . . .

Friend: Oh my goodness! What happened to you?

Woman: Well, to save time I thought I would ride my bike to the supermarket to get a few things, and on the way, to cut a long story short, I fell off!

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So remember, if you are telling a story or explaining an experience, and you realize you are going into too many details, or you see your listener is getting bored, you can conclude quickly by saying: “to cut a long story short” and then just give the final outcome.

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As you are interested in TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT meaning with examples, be sure to check another common idiom in The English Idioms Guide:
The Meaning of SPEAKING OF THE DEVIL – In a Sentence

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Slide 4 – girl on phone
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Slide 6 – women in wheel chair
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