story
Preserved but no longer current.
A falsehood,—the soft synonym for a lie, allowed in family circles and boarding-schools. A Puritanism that came into fashion with the tirade against romances, all novels and stories being considered as dangerous and false.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “story” mean?
A falsehood,—the soft synonym for a lie, allowed in family circles and boarding-schools. A Puritanism that came into fashion with the tirade against romances, all novels and stories being considered as dangerous and false.
Is “story” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.