yarn
/jɑːn
/noun
1 [mass noun] Spun thread used for knitting, weaving, or sewing: hanks of pale green yarn [count noun]: a fine yarn for a lightweight garment...
- There was a guy in there showing a girl how to spin yarn using a spindle.
- Typically, American stocking factories spun their own wool into yarn or thread.
- Older women continue to weave long, colorful sashes with red wool yarn on a white cotton background.
Synonyms
thread, cotton, wool, fibre, filament, strand;
ply;
cord, twine, string, line
2 informal A long or rambling story, especially one that is implausible: he never let reality get in the way of a good yarn...
- The open fire is a focal point around which many yarns are spun and stories told.
- The detective yarn is one of the most formally defined modes of storytelling.
- It's a treat and guaranteed to having you curling up in laughter at some of the yarns and stories from times past.
Synonyms
story, tale, anecdote, fable, parable, traveller's tale, fairy story, rigmarole, saga, sketch, narrative, reminiscence, account, report, history
informal tall tale, tall story, cock and bull story, shaggy-dog story, spiel
2.1Australian /NZ A chat: he had a bit of a yarn with the others...
- But there's more to this attachment than a simple fondness for gossip or a good yarn.
- So she came around and I got to work on the iPod as we had a bit of a yarn.
- And he did exactly what I'd been trained to do; he sat down and we had a cup of tea at the table out there, a bit of a yarn.
verb [no object] informal
1Tell a long or implausible story: they were yarning about local legends and superstitions...
- Her mother taught her how to fish, dig for worms, catch seaworms, and swim, and then at night her mother, uncles and aunts would gather all the children around the campfire for a night of yarning.
- Daily activities such as meeting, talking, sitting, yarning, playing, working, painting and cooking are also processes that imbue a place with meaning and culture associated with the user group.
- There was no television; we had radio, but our main entertainment was sitting around yarning, and telling, recalling stories of childhood and the bush and the Depression and the War and so on.
1.1Australian /NZ Chat; talk: he sat yarning to his mother...
- The interview has come to a close yet Clarke seems quite content to yarn.
- And that's precisely the reason old people love to yarn and natter with youngsters.
- Eventually all settled down to a well-cooked meal, then yarning and laughter.
Phrases
spin a yarn
Origin
Old English gearn; of Germanic origin, related to Dutch garen.