Shaggy Dog Story
Shaggy Dog Yarn
A long-winded anecdote characterized by extensive narration, of typically irrelevant incidents, and terminated by an anticlimax or a pointless punchline.
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Origin
The phrase "shaggy dog story" derives from an actual but improbable tale about a shaggy-haired dog, though its exact origin remains uncertain. The earliest documented use appears in the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity publication The Tomahawk in 1914, suggesting it was already established. The first clear print citation is from Esquire magazine in May 1937. Scholar Eric Partridge noted the term spread widely during 1942–1943, though the story format was apparently invented in the 1930s, describing rambling narratives with deliberately anticlimactic endings.
Updated February 22, 2026