15 "Story" Expressions with Surprising Meanings!

Have you ever noticed English expressions like story of my life? It's the same old story and end of story. These phrases are not talking about stories like the ones we read in books. They mean something totally different. By the end of this video, you'll learn 15 natural expressions using the word story. Make sure to download the free lesson PDF by clicking on the link in the video description so you can review and remember them. And speaking of stories, we are creating a brand new course called Bite-sized Stories. You will get 30 short and sweet story-based lessons in 30 days, helping you learn English vocabulary and grammar naturally. If you'd like to check it out, click on the link under this video. Ready to learn these 15 surprising story expressions? Let's get started. Our first one is story of my life. This phrase is used humorously or sarcastically when something unlucky or typical always happens to you. For example, the bus left just as I arrived. Story of my life. Number two, a soa story. A soa story is a sad story meant to make people feel pity, feel bad for you. For example, don't give me a sob story about why you're late again. Number three, inside story. This refers to secret or special information that not everyone knows. For example, she gave me the inside story about what really happened at work. Number four, the full story. This means the complete truth or all the details about something. For example, I don't think he's telling me the full story. He seems to be hiding something. Number five, get the story straight or set the story straight. This means to make sure the facts are correct. For example, before we talk to the police, let's get our story straight. Or the newspaper printed the wrong facts, so he wrote a letter to set the story straight. You could also say set the record straight. It means to correct incorrect information. Number six, it's an old story or it's the same old story. This describes something that happens repeatedly or is not new. For example, he promised to change, but it's the same old story. That means he's probably promised this before, but not actually changed. Number seven, that's a likely story. This is a sarcastic way to say, I don't believe that. For example, the cat ate your homework. That's a likely story. A similar expression is don't give me that story. This is used when you don't believe someone's excuse or explanation. For example, imagine a wife calling her husband on the phone and saying, "You have to stay late at work, huh? Don't give me that story. I know you're at the bar with your buddies." You know, learning a language through stories is very powerful because stories help you learn the language naturally as you see words, phrases, and grammar used in context. Stories also help you remember the language better because you enjoy reading them and they stay in your memory. If you'd like to enjoy these benefits of learning English through stories, come join our new byte-sized stories course. Click on the link in the video description to learn more about it and sign up today. All right, let's keep going with these story expressions. Number nine, but that's another story. We say this when we don't want to go into more detail or it's a different topic. For example, oh, you're going on a business trip to Spain. I met my husband in Barcelona, but that's another story. Similarly, it's a long story is used when something is complicated and would take too long to explain. So, if someone asks, "Why did you move to Canada?" You might reply, "Oh, it's a long story." If you don't want to say all the details, but you do want to give a summary, you can use the expression to make a long story short. It's used to summarize a long explanation. For example, to make a long story short, we missed our flight and had to sleep at the airport. So, I'm not telling you all the details or everything that happened. I'm just giving you a short, quick summary. Our next one is end of story. We say this to show something is final and not open to discussion. Imagine a parent talking to their teenage son and saying, "You are not going to that party. End of story." The expression tells a different story means that something shows a different version of events or contradicts something. For example, he says he's healthy, but his diet tells a different story. So what he eats, his diet, contradicts what he says that he's healthy. So maybe he eats a lot of junk food, but he says he's healthy. His diet tells a different story than what he says. Now we have a question. What's the story with? We use this to ask for information or an explanation. For example, hey, what's the story with your new job? Do you like it so far? Finally, we have there are two sides to every story. This means there are always two different perspectives. For example, don't judge too quickly. Remember, there are two sides to every story. There you go. Those were 15 expressions using the word story in lots of different ways. Remember to download your free lesson PDF by clicking the link under this video. You know, stories are told in every culture in all of human history because we love listening to them. Think about a time you read or heard a great story. You probably remember lots of details. And that's why learning English through stories is extremely effective. Stories make learning the language natural, memorable, and fun. That's why I'm so excited about the new byite-sized stories course. It's 30 days with 30 stories, meaning you'll be able to improve your English a lot in the next month. Come join us. Click on the link in the video description to learn more about the course and fall in love with learning English through stories. [Music]