Do You Know Anyone Who Will Embellish A Story To Make It More Interesting?
By Janey1966
@Janey1966 (24170)
Carlisle, England
July 12, 2012 7:25am CST
My MIL did this once and no doubt she embellishes "stuff" about me to her neighbours..but I don't care.
The story in question actually concerns someone my husband knows. He is a carpet fitter by trade (handy for us when we want the stairs doing as he's brilliant at it apparently) but fell on hard times and had to move out of his semi-detached next to the MIL and into a flat.
Now, my MIL heard something from somebody else that he fell on hard times because he was heavily (and I mean "heavily") into debt but it was obvious she was exaggerating these claims and when she spoke to my husband about it he was none too pleased as most of the stuff she was saying was untrue.
He warned her not to take any notice of what people say to her whilst drunk "in the Club" and I couldn't agree more as my Dad once told my Mum someone had "died" and they hadn't. He got quite a shock when he saw him in HIS Club, alive and well.
I think it's best to take things at face value rather than believing everything (or exaggerating for effect) what a person tells you. Personally, I would keep sensitive information to myself, especially if it's spoken by someone who's a bit tipsy!
The story in question actually concerns someone my husband knows. He is a carpet fitter by trade (handy for us when we want the stairs doing as he's brilliant at it apparently) but fell on hard times and had to move out of his semi-detached next to the MIL and into a flat.
Now, my MIL heard something from somebody else that he fell on hard times because he was heavily (and I mean "heavily") into debt but it was obvious she was exaggerating these claims and when she spoke to my husband about it he was none too pleased as most of the stuff she was saying was untrue.
He warned her not to take any notice of what people say to her whilst drunk "in the Club" and I couldn't agree more as my Dad once told my Mum someone had "died" and they hadn't. He got quite a shock when he saw him in HIS Club, alive and well.
I think it's best to take things at face value rather than believing everything (or exaggerating for effect) what a person tells you. Personally, I would keep sensitive information to myself, especially if it's spoken by someone who's a bit tipsy!3 people like this
10 responses
@changjiangzhibin89 (16761)
• China
13 Jul 12
What You have done are right.We must think things out for ourselves when we hear something about somebody,rather than taking wind as the forerunner of rain- like a saying here-jumping to hasty conclusion,even adding highly coloured details to a story.Gossip is a fearful thing.I doubt if your MIL kind of took pleasure in the carpet fitter's suffering.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
17 Jul 12
Well, that's just it. She doesn't ask the guy himself how he's doing, she gets it from other people who don't really know anything either. Because John knows him personally (and he plays snooker in his team) he has more of an idea what the guy is going through compared to his Mum, who never sees him. This is what upset John at the time as the "story" got passed round and the carpet-fitter had no chance to redress the balance, other than to talk to John. Hopefully, the MIL has mentioned in the club what the situation really is like for the carpet-fitter. She owes him that much at least. There is nothing worse than being talked about and it's all lies!!
@changjiangzhibin89 (16761)
• China
18 Jul 12
I remember you have mentioned the carpet-fitter and your in laws are next door neighbours.She should have known him well and should have known seeing is believing.Poor guy now finds it hard to vindicate himself.
@ladym33 (10979)
• United States
18 Jul 12
I know a couple of people like that but my ex-brother in law does it to an extreme, but he does it on purpose and to be funny. He is really funny. 
. Sometimes it will tell him a really long time to tell a simple story that would only take most people a minute to tell, but the way he does it is so funny.
. Sometimes it will tell him a really long time to tell a simple story that would only take most people a minute to tell, but the way he does it is so funny.@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
18 Jul 12
Yes, I know people like that and my Dad is a brilliant story-teller. I love listening to him as he can be very funny as well.
@derek_a (10874)
•
13 Jul 12
Hi Janey..
Well yes.. I used to have a girlfriend who did this and it used to annoy me no end. we would be out on a foursome date and start talking about some experience or other and she would just go berserk on loads of extra details. It was quite a dilemma because I wouldn't want to embarrass my girlfriend by saying that some of it didn't happen, but it would sometimes sound too fantastic to be true.
I think maybe we will all do it sometimes,, like if we are late for work.. Add a little bit to the story so as to have a better excuse perhaps? But this g/f was a pure fantasist and I think people knew this. I was only a kid at the time and found myself swept along with it, but now I would have to say "wait a minute! It didn't happen like that at all!" I often wonder what happened to her.. It would be interesting to know what sort of guy she married or what sort of family would be sitting around the fire telling a story of their fantastic day!" _Derej
_Derej@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
17 Jul 12
Yes, my Mum doesn't keep quiet anymore when she KNOWS my Dad is - either embellishing a story to someone else in front of her (but she says something after the person has gone) or he's got something completely wrong in the first place. He has got the knack of switching off though so I doubt it gets through anyway lol.
@marguicha (223077)
• Chile
17 Jul 12
Hi Janey,
I think that the word embellish can have lots of different meanings. I don´t mind some exagerations to make a story more interesting, as long as it doesn´t hurt anyone and everyone knows what is happening. In our group of friends we have some codes about changing and adding to stories, but we know what part is real and which one is said just for fun, It must be because a great part of my close friends are writers.
What your MIL was not a kind exageration though and I would not call that sort of thing an embellishment of a story, but ratther a way of making it rude or gross.
@purplealabaster (22091)
• United States
12 Jul 12
There are times when I will embellish a story to get a point across, but I do it in a way that there is no doubt that I am exaggerating, such as saying there were a million stop lights on the way home and every single one of them was red. Now, the fact that they were all red is correct, but there were obviously not a million ... it just seemed like there were, especially since all of them were red when I got to them.
I do know a couple of people that will just make things up to start some trouble or get something going simply because they think that it is funny. I also know a couple of other people that will assume things and then state them as fact, even though they do not know whether or not what they are saying is true. I get frustrated with the latter people, because they are not really trying to lie to start trouble, but they are not necessarily telling the truth, either (as opposed to the first group that is intentionally lying to start trouble). With the latter group, I have to ask every time they say something important ... is this really true or are you just making up a story because you think it could be true.
I do know a couple of people that will just make things up to start some trouble or get something going simply because they think that it is funny. I also know a couple of other people that will assume things and then state them as fact, even though they do not know whether or not what they are saying is true. I get frustrated with the latter people, because they are not really trying to lie to start trouble, but they are not necessarily telling the truth, either (as opposed to the first group that is intentionally lying to start trouble). With the latter group, I have to ask every time they say something important ... is this really true or are you just making up a story because you think it could be true.@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
12 Jul 12
This is one of the many reasons I prefer animals. I'm sure (if they could speak) they wouldn't tell lies like humans do. What a complicated species we are!
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
12 Jul 12
Well, at least you know she's doing it. My Mum only half believes my Dad whenever he tells her something "from the Club." Another problem is he's 9 years older than my Mum and his brain doesn't retain information like it used to, if you get my drift. So, it's actually quite an achievement for him to remember things word for word. One thing he is brilliant at though is remembering stuff from way, way back, like his Army days. He doesn't embellish stories like that because they are about him.
@blademaiden (734)
• Romania
12 Jul 12
People tell lies for numerous reasons. There are a lot of people who refuse to admit to themselves they did something wrong, so they embellish things to convince themselves they are the good characters of the story, when they are actually the bad ones. The truth would be too hard to handle for their minds. They use self-deception as a defense mechanism. There's another category of people who say things that are not true because they like it. Telling lies that are believed by others, gives them a feeling of superiority. They think they are better than others by being malicious.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
12 Jul 12
Yes, I can think of a few people that are like that.
@wilsongoddard (7291)
• United States
12 Jul 12
I think that most people embellish stories a bit every now and again. However, the problem comes when you are dealing with people whose every sentence contains "embellishment." I've known people like that. 
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
12 Jul 12
I know what you mean..and they wonder why no-one takes them seriously!
@inertia4 (27960)
• United States
7 Aug 12
I have people in my family like that. I also have an aunt that wants to know everything that is going on with everyone but never tells you whats going on with her. Its one thing when its just a friend or an acquaintance, but it is yet another when it is family. So I pretty much stay away. I always remember what my father said through the years, he said, "believe half of what you see and none of hat you hear." I live by that statement.
@francesca5 (1344)
•
12 Jul 12
isn't gossiping about other people, and embellishing the stories a sign that someone does not have enough to do.
maybe your mother in law needs something to do to occupy her time, and then she might stop interfering in your life too.
though people who gossip too much tend to have excluded themselves from doing the sort of things that older people who don't waste time gossiping do.
is there no local fete she can make a cake for, or a charity shop she can help in, or something?
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
12 Jul 12
The last sentence made me smile my friend. Oh, how I wish she would do at least one of those things but - alas, she prefers her own form of entertainment which is, "Emmerdale", whisky and bed at 9pm! She'll go to bed even earlier tonight because her and her hubby are off to a trip to York early tomorrow morning. I bet she packed everything on Monday, leaving one pair of cut-offs and a T-shirt she will swan around the house in and re-wash.
