Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a euph. for a lie; thus story-teller n., a liar.

a.1697		J. Aubrey Lives: Sir H. Blount (1898) I 110: Two young gentlemen that heard Sir H. tell this sham so gravely [...] told him they wonderd he was not ashamed to tell [...] storys.
1721		Penkethman’s Jests 90: They upbraided the Person with telling ’em so monstrous a Story. – Look you there now, said he, You told me a hundred Lyes t’other Night.
1727		Defoe Hist. and Reality of Apparitions 1417: He [...] seemd to laugh that she should first put such a Sham upon him, and then to tell such a formal Story to make it good.
1751		Smollett Peregrine Pickle (1964) 9: You Jack Hatchway, damn ye, what d’ye grin at? D’ye think I tell a story, because you never heard it before?
1787		R. Tyler Contrast I i: A mighty pretty story!
1801		C. Dibdin Yngr Song Smith 122: But I know you’ll suppose some fine story I’m cooking.
1848		Thackeray Vanity Fair II 290: Becky gave her brother-in-law a bottle of white wine, some that Rawdon had brought with him from France [...] the little story-teller said.
1859		Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc. 103: STORY, a falsehood, — the soft synonym for a lie, allowed in family circles and boarding schools.
1866		Wild Boys of London I 86: ‘Don’t tell me any dreadful stories, or I shall not like you.’ ‘Will you like me if I tell the truth?’.
1876		M.E. Braddon Dead Men’s Shoes III 57: Mammie wouldn’t tell a story.
1885		Bulletin (Sydney) 7 Feb. 12/3: Angelina was gazing on to the whirling waltzers, when Edwin came up and hinted at the joy he would feel if she would only bestow upon him the pleasure of a dance. ‘I would,’ she replied, ‘with pleasure (which was a story), but that I can not do the new step.’.
1938		C. Odets Rocket to the Moon II i: You know you tell stories, Cleo.
1949		‘Hal Ellson’ Duke 128: That ain’t no story, is it?
1952		(con. 1948) G. Mandel Flee the Angry Strangers 46: Nobody tell a long story no more, okay?
1963		A. Baron Lowlife (2001) 210: You’ve told your husband a story.
1979		A. Payne ‘Dessert Song’ Minder [TV script] 61: Listen, Charlie, this geezer’s got nothing to do with your brother. That was Johnny telling you stories.
1997		C. McPherson The Weir 38: A bit of an old story, like.

2. (W.I.) a row.

1905

J.G. Cruickshank Negro Humour 78: ’Tory a pass hey b’y! [...] A row is in progress [...] ‘Story’ for row is very common.

3. a liar.

1888–94		‘Walter’ My Secret Life (1966) V 981: ‘How often do you have a lady?’ ‘After each of my meals, — and twice in the night regularly,’ said I. ‘Oh, you story,’ said she.
1908		H. Green Maison De Shine 191: ‘Oh, you story!’ shrilled little Minnie.
1925		W. Pett Ridge Some Showers 11: Oh, you story! You wicked story!

4. (US) a fuss.

1954

M. Bodenheim My Life and Loves in Greenwich Village (1961) 68: He’s making a story (a row, a fuss, a scene) about an overcoat he’s missing.

5. (US campus) an afternoon television soap opera.

1976		Eble Campus Sl. Nov. 5: story – soap opera.
1978		W.D. Myers It Ain’t All for Nothin 196: I put on the stories for him and we watched them together.
1996		Eble Sl. and Sociability 57: Story refers to ‘an afternoon television soap opera’: ‘I don’t take afternoon classes – I can’t miss my stories’.

6. (N.Z.) a term of acknowledgment or approval (sometimes the story).

2003

McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. 201: story/the story Correct information acknowledged, sometimes commended, eg, ‘You’ve checked everything three times, Charlie, and that’s Jake. Story.’.

7. (Irish) general term of address, i.e. ‘what’s the story?’.

2017		L. McInerney Blood Miracles 46: ‘Story, Triona?’ ‘Usual craic. What are you up to?’.
2021		L. McInerney Rules of Revelation 228: Story, boy! Someone told me you were in fucking China!