A shaggy dog story is a type of JOKE or tall tale that is characterized by an overly long and drawn-out narrative. It often involves an element of EXAGGERATION, and the punchline is usually anti-climactic. The term 'shaggy dog story' comes from the phrase 'shaggy dog, ' which is used to describe a scruffy-looking dog. The crossword solutions for the term 'shaggy dog story' are EXAGGERATION (12 letters), YARN (4 letters), and JOKE (4 letters). EXAGGERATION refers to the exaggerated elements of the story, YARN is another word for a story, and JOKE is the punchline of the story.