a yarn about sth
yarn 指（常带夸张色彩的）故事、奇谈，about 后接故事所讲的内容。
Grandpa told the children a yarn about his days at sea.
爷爷给孩子们讲了一个他在海上漂泊时的故事。
纱线；毛线
yarns — plural of yarn
故事；奇谈；用于编织或织布的扭曲纤维线。；叙述；捻在一起的纤维束,进一步捻成股,再捻或编成绳。
Twisted fibres used for knitting, weaving, sewing, or making rope.
用于编织或织布的扭曲纤维线。
A twisted strand of fibre used for knitting or weaving.
叙述
the act of giving an account describing incidents or a course of events
捻在一起的纤维束,进一步捻成股,再捻或编成绳。
Bundles of fibres twisted together, and which in turn are twisted in bundles to form strands, which in their turn are twisted or plaited to form rope.
纱线
a fine cord of twisted fibers (of cotton or silk or wool or nylon etc.) used in sewing and weaving
故事,尤其是难以置信的故事。
A story, a tale, especially one that is incredible.
She bought some soft blue yarn to knit a scarf for her friend.
她买了一些柔软的蓝色毛线，给朋友织一条围巾。
用法提示：yarn 在此作不可数名词，指用于编织的毛线/纱线，作 bought 的宾语。
The basket was woven from thick cotton yarn.
这个篮子是用粗棉纱编织而成的。
用法提示：yarn 作不可数名词，指纺织用的纱线，此处作介词 from 的宾语。
Workers spin raw wool into yarn before it is sent to the mills.
工人们先把原毛纺成纱线，再送往工厂。
用法提示：yarn 指纤维纺成的纱线，作介词 into 的宾语，表示纺成的结果。
yarn 指（常带夸张色彩的）故事、奇谈，about 后接故事所讲的内容。
Grandpa told the children a yarn about his days at sea.
爷爷给孩子们讲了一个他在海上漂泊时的故事。
固定搭配，意为编造（往往不真实的）故事；spin 可随人称和时态变化。
He spun a yarn to explain why he was late.
他编了个故事来解释自己为什么迟到。
此义指编织用的纱线、毛线；也可说 knit sth from yarn。
She knitted a warm sweater with yarn she had bought online.
她用网上买的毛线织了一件暖和的毛衣。
yarn指离奇的或夸张的叙述，story更通用
tale常带虚构色彩，yarn偏口语
anecdote是简短有趣的真人真事，yarn可指编造的故事
yarn指连续纺成的纱线，thread指单根细线
fiber是更广义的纤维，yarn强调纺成的线
grammar · medium
易错句子I bought a yarn to knit a sweater.
正确表达I bought some yarn to knit a sweater.
表示“纱线、毛线”这一材料义时，yarn 是不可数名词，前面不能加不定冠词 a/an；要说“一些毛线”就用 some yarn 或 a ball of yarn。只有作“故事、奇谈”讲时 yarn 才可数（a yarn / yarns）。
grammar · medium
易错句子She said me a yarn about her trip.
正确表达She told me a yarn about her trip.
汉语的“讲（故事）”既可对应 say 也可对应 tell，但英语里“讲一个故事/奇谈”固定用 tell（tell sb a yarn/story）；say 不能接“人+物”的双宾语，所以 said me 要改成 told me。
grammar · medium
易错句子He told me very interesting yarn.
正确表达He told me a very interesting yarn.
yarn 作“故事、奇谈”讲时可数，单数形式前必须有限定词；汉语“讲个有趣的故事”里的量词“个”常被省掉，学习者因此漏掉冠词。这里指一个故事，所以要用 a very interesting yarn。
针对“故事，奇谈”这一含义
讲故事（尤指冗长离奇的）
My grandfather used to spin a yarn about his adventures in the war.
我祖父过去常常讲他在战争中的冒险故事。
讲一个故事
She told a fascinating yarn about her travels in Africa.
她讲了一个关于她在非洲旅行的迷人故事。
一个好故事
That's a good yarn, but I'm not sure I believe it.
那是个好故事，但我不太相信。
编织用纱线
She bought some soft knitting yarn for the sweater.
她买了一些柔软的编织纱线来做毛衣。
一绞纱线
I need one more skein of yarn to finish this scarf.
我还需要一绞纱线才能完成这条围巾。
编故事；讲故事
Grandpa loves to spin a yarn about his childhood adventures.
爷爷喜欢编造关于他童年冒险的故事。
讲故事
The old sailor told us a yarn about a sea monster.
老水手给我们讲了一个关于海怪的故事。
一个好故事
That movie was just a good yarn, nothing more.
那部电影不过是个好故事而已。
Choose the next layer that will help you use yarns with more confidence.
Recommended next
Preparing Confusing words
Complete this area with confusing words.
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.
线球
The cat played with a yarn ball and unraveled it.
猫玩一个线球，把它弄散了。