shaggy-dog story

A form of shaggy dog story — An intentionally long-winded joke or tale featuring the narration of typically irrelevant details, and usually ending with an absurd or pointless punchline which is often a pun or Spoonerism on a known catchphrase, with the intended humor deriving from the combination of the excessive length and the anticlimax.

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Meanings

nounshaggy-dog story (plural shaggy-dog stories)

plural shaggy-dog stories

  1. alternativeAlternative form of shaggy dog story.
Cite this entry
APA

shaggy-dog story. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shaggy-dog%20story

MLA

“shaggy-dog story.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shaggy-dog%20story. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shaggy-dog story,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shaggy-dog%20story.

Source: shaggy-dog story on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.