indulge in idle gossip
说长───Long story;说───say
I'm afraid it's a rather long story.───我恐怕这是个相当长的故事。
story", said the Marionette.───说来话长，木偶说。
Why is it that the Internet plays such an important role in our daily life? It's a long story.───为什么因特网在我们的生活中发挥了重要的作用？这说来话长。
Whereupon he burst out into a long story in German and English, so mixed up that I could not quite understand exactly what he said.───于是他滔滔不绝地讲起一个故事，故事很长，英、德混杂的语言让我不能完全理解他的话，只听了个大概。
Helen asked me to explain what I meant, and listened carefully to the long story of what I had suffered at Gateshead.───海伦让我解释一下这是什么意思，并仔细地听了我在盖茨赫德漫长的痛苦经历。
She rolled her eyes, and I sensed a long story.───她翻了个白眼，我能感觉出来，那是个长篇故事。
I will cut a long story short.
To cut a long story short, I ended up as managing director.
It's a long story. Where shall I start?
A long story may be condensed into a few sentences.
To cut a long story short, I got the job.