Long story short means skipping the details and giving the outcome. Long story short, we lost, so, long story short, long story short it worked.
It is a promise the speaker often breaks, since the story usually continues anyway. The fuller forms are to cut a long story short in Britain and to make a long story short in America.
1phraselong story shortSkipping the details and giving the outcome.
“Long story short, we missed the flight and spent the night at the airport.”
long story short is a summary.
A reduced form of to cut a long story short, or of the American to make a long story short.
A reduced form of to cut a long story short and to make a long story short.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA