Meanings
Synonyms & antonyms
Also see
Origin
From the generally held belief that fishermen tend to exaggerate the size of their catch. Unrelated to the figurative sense of fishy.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish kalavale, kalajuttu
- kalavaleexaggerated or boastful story
- kalajuttuexaggerated or boastful story
German Seemannsgarn
- Seemannsgarnexaggerated or boastful story
Norwegian Bokmål fiskeskrøne
- fiskeskrøneexaggerated or boastful story
Polish wierutne kłamstwo
- wierutne kłamstwoexaggerated or boastful story
Portuguese história de pescador
- história de pescadorexaggerated or boastful story
Cite this entry
APA
fish story. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fish%20story
MLA
“fish story.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fish%20story. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fish story,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fish%20story.
Source: fish story on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.