长话短说 cháng huà duǎn shuō To cut a long story short

Explanation

长话短说就是用简洁的语言概括主要意思，省略不重要的细节。

To cut a long story short means to summarize the main points in a concise language, omitting unimportant details.

Origin Story

从前，在一个繁华的都市里，住着一位名叫王小明的年轻人，他生性善良，乐于助人。有一天，他在街上遇见了一位衣衫褴褛的老人，老人向他诉说了自己不幸的遭遇，希望能得到帮助。王小明听了老人的讲述，心中十分同情，于是便带着老人来到一家小餐馆，为老人买了一份热腾腾的饭菜。老人一边吃着饭，一边不停地感谢王小明，并向他讲述了自己过去的经历。王小明认真地听着，他发现老人的故事很长，而且有很多细节。于是，王小明就对老人说：“长话短说，您现在最需要什么帮助？”老人听了，顿时恍然大悟，他明白王小明的意思，于是便向王小明说明了自己最迫切的需要，希望王小明能帮助他找到一份工作。王小明答应了老人的请求，并帮助老人找到了一个适合他的工作。老人非常感激王小明，并对王小明说：“你的善良和帮助让我永远难忘！”从此以后，王小明和老人成为了好朋友，他们经常互相帮助，彼此关心。

cóng qián, zài yī gè fán huá de dū shì lǐ, zhù zhe yī wèi míng jiào wáng xiǎo míng de nián qīng rén, tā shēng xìng shàn liáng, lè yú zhù rén. yǒu yī tiān, tā zài jiē shàng yù jiàn le yī wèi yī shān lán lǚ de lǎo rén, lǎo rén xiàng tā sù shuō le zì jǐ bù xìng de zāo yù, xī wàng néng dé dào bāng zhù. wáng xiǎo míng tīng le lǎo rén de jiǎng shù, xīn zhōng shí fēn tóng qíng, yú shì biàn dài zhe lǎo rén lái dào yī jiā xiǎo cān guǎn, wèi lǎo rén mǎi le yī fèn rè tèng tèng de fàn cài. lǎo rén yī biān chī zhe fàn, yī biān bù tíng de gǎn xiè wáng xiǎo míng, bìng xiàng tā jiǎng shù le zì jǐ guò qù de jīng lì. wáng xiǎo míng rèn zhēn de tīng zhe, tā fā xiàn lǎo rén de gù shì hěn cháng, ér qiě yǒu hěn duō xiàng qíng. yú shì, wáng xiǎo míng jiù duì lǎo rén shuō: 'cháng huà duǎn shuō, nín xiàn zài zuì xū yào shén me bāng zhù?' lǎo rén tīng le, dùn shí huǎng rán dà wù, tā míng bai wáng xiǎo míng de yì si, yú shì biàn xiàng wáng xiǎo míng shuō míng le zì jǐ zuì pò qiè de xū yào, xī wàng wáng xiǎo míng néng bāng zhù tā zhǎo dào yī fèn gōng zuò. wáng xiǎo míng dā yìng le lǎo rén de qǐng qiú, bìng bāng zhù lǎo rén zhǎo dào le yī gè shì hé tā de gōng zuò. lǎo rén fēi cháng gǎn jī wáng xiǎo míng, bìng duì wáng xiǎo míng shuō: 'nǐ de shàn liáng hé bāng zhù ràng wǒ yǒng yuǎn nán wàng!' cóng cǐ yǐ hòu, wáng xiǎo míng hé lǎo rén chéng wéi le hǎo péng yǒu, tā men jīng cháng hù xiāng bāng zhù, bǐ cǐ guān xīn.

Once upon a time, in a bustling city, there lived a kind-hearted young man named Wang Xiaoming. He was known for his helpfulness and friendly nature. One day, he met an old man in rags on the street who told him his sad story and begged for help. Wang Xiaoming was deeply moved by the old man's plight and took him to a small restaurant, where he bought him a hot meal. The old man thanked Wang Xiaoming repeatedly and told him about his past. Wang Xiaoming listened attentively, but he realized that the old man's story was long and full of details. So Wang Xiaoming said to the old man,

Usage

“长话短说”这个成语，意思是用简洁的语言概括主要意思，省略不重要的细节。

cháng huà duǎn shuō

“To cut a long story short” is an idiom that means to summarize the main points in a concise language, omitting unimportant details.

Examples

• 今天时间很紧，长话短说吧。

  cháng huà duǎn shuō ba

  To cut a long story short, we need to act now.

• 事情很紧急，长话短说，你直接说结论吧。

  cháng huà duǎn shuō, nǐ zhí jiē shuō jié lùn ba

  Long story short, I need your help.

• 长话短说，我们现在需要立即行动。

  cháng huà duǎn shuō, wǒ men xiàn zài xū yào lì jí xíng dòng

  Let’s cut to the chase. We need to make a decision.

Related Idioms

• 言简意赅

• 简明扼要

• 一语道破

Opposite Idioms

• 说来话长

• 唠唠叨叨