Long-winded and ultimately disappointing anecdote (6,3,5)

I believe the answer is:

shaggy dog story

(Other definitions for shaggy dog story that I've seen before include "woolly tale?" , "silly joke" , "It ends in anticlimax" , "Beardie's tale" , "Digby, possibly" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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