说来话长

说来话长

Literally means:

it's a long story

Actually means:

Shuo Lai, to tell; Hua Chang, a long story.

It means that something is too complicated to be explained in a few words.

It is usually used to describe unhappy things and often used to indicate the complexity.

说来，说起来、谈起来。话长，很多或很长的话。

说来话长，指事情复杂，仅仅几句话是说不清楚的，要用很多话来说才行。

多指不愉快的事情。常用来强调事情的复杂。