shaggy dog story
See also: shaggy-dog story
English edit
Etymology edit
Uncertain; probably from one of two jokes, one in which a protracted search for an alleged remarkably shaggy, talking dog ends in the discovery of the dog which, though it can indeed talk, is disappointingly not so shaggy after all; or one in which an even more protracted search for the shaggiest dog in the world ends in the utterly anticlimactic punchline “Now that’s a shaggy dog!”.
Pronunciation edit
- Hyphenation: shag‧gy dog sto‧ry
Noun edit
shaggy dog story (plural shaggy dog stories)
- 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 humour deriving from the combination of the excessive length and the anticlimax.
Alternative forms edit
Derived terms edit
See also edit
Further reading edit
shaggy dog story on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
