Word of the Day

: November 12, 2007

war story

noun WOR-STOR-ee

What It Means

: a story of a memorable personal experience typically involving an element of danger, hardship, or adventure

war story in Context

The two truckers swapped war stories about driving semitrailers over icy mountain passes and through congested cities.

Did You Know?

People have been telling stories about real wars since long before Washington Irving wrote the following in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: "folks . . . sat smoking at one end of the piazza, . . . drawing out long stories about the war." But today tellers of "war stories" need not have experienced a literal battlefield. Around the middle of the 19th century, "war story" took on a more figurative meaning, and nowadays such accounts can encompass challenges in the workplace, on the campaign trail, in sports, in one's travels . . . wherever difficulties need to be overcome.