Story

check story

He says he was at home at the time of the crime. We’ll need to check his story. See if you can find someone who can back it up.

believe story

Your mother will never believe that story about you missing the last bus. Just tell her the truth!

make the story up

No, I didn’t make the story up. I’ve told you the whole thing is true!

stick to story

When mum and dad ask us how the window was broken we must all stick the same story if we want them to believe us!

sell story

In my opinion, criminals should not be allowed to make a fortune by selling their stories to the newspapers.

read story

Did your parents read you stories before you went to bed?

true story

That TV series about a doctor working in Africa in the 1920’s is based on a true story.

full story

I don’t think that we’ve heard the full story of the Prime Minister’s resignation yet. I think there’s a lot more to come.

likely story

He said he found the video recorder under a tree! That’s a likely story! How can he expect anybody to believe that!

gripping story

It was such a gripping story that the children wouldn’t leave until they had heard how it ended.

complicated story

I’ll tell you about my childhood some other time. It’s a long and complicated story and I don’t have time to go into it all just now.

same old story

It’s the same old story wherever you go – the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The world doesn’t change.

point of story

I couldn’t make much sense of the story. In fact, I couldn’t see the point of it at all.

side of story

We’ve all read about it in the papers, but before we make any judgments I think we should hear his side of the story first.

moral of story

The main lesson or moral of the story is that crime doesn’t pay.

part of story

Some crucial facts have been missed out. We’ve only heard part of the story!

success story

Lots of companies have gone out of business during the recession. The Green Shoe company is a rare success story.

cock-and-bull story

I can always tell when Pete is lying. He gave me some cock-and-bull story about helping a friend decorate his living room – a highly unlikely story! Pete has never used a paint brush in his life!

hard-luck story

The beggar told me some hard-luck story about being cheated out of his inheritance.

real-life story

The film was based on the real-life story of General Patton.

rags-to-riches story

He was brought up in poverty in a Glasgow slum, but through hard work and a bit of luck he became the millionaire owner of a hug supermarket chain. It’s a classic rage-to-riches story.

love story

Why do all love stories have happy ending?

 

Notes

• A story is also a report in a newspaper:

The Times has a story about that bribery scandal.

• If we say that something is ‘only a story’, we mean that it is not true.
• We say ‘to cut a long story short’ when we don’t want to go into details.
• We talk about detective, horror, ghost and love stories.