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From: wmartin@brl-vgr.ARPA (Will Martin )
Newsgroups: net.jokes.d
Subject: Re: ORIGINS OF TERM "SHAGGY DOG STORY"?
Message-ID: <2866@brl-vgr.ARPA>
Date: Tue, 27-Mar-84 09:42:04 EST
Article-I.D.: brl-vgr.2866
Posted: Tue Mar 27 09:42:04 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 28-Mar-84 01:38:24 EST
References: <221@afinitc.UUCP>
Organization: Ballistics Research Lab
Lines: 29

Well, the way I recall hearing/reading...

First off, a "shaggy dog story" is a long, elaborate, and convoluted
story which ends with a punchline that is just not really very funny;
the payoff is just not worth the effort leading up to it.

The classic or archetypal story goes something like:

An American millionaire in the good old days is sitting reading
the Times of London in his mansion. He sees an advertisement about
a lost dog: "Lost -- one dog, very shaggy, reward -- please return
to <London address here>". For some reason [the motivation here never
made any sense to me -- this is the weakest part of the story in my 
opinion], he is smitten by the uncontrollable urge to respond to this
ad. He sends his butler out to procure the shaggiest dog he could find.
[The story can be expanded here with tales of the butler's adventures
in obtaining a dog.]

He then boards a transatlantic liner with the dog and goes to London.
[Again an opportunity to throw in lots of detail and stretch out the tale.]
He arrives in London, goes to the address in the ad, and rings the
bell. A butler answers the door. The millionaire says, "I am returning
your lost dog." The butler looks disdainfully at the man and then down
at the dog, and replies, in a most supercilious manner, "We said 'shaggy',
but not THAT shaggy."

That's all there is...  See what I mean?

Will Martin