Megillah
meh-GILL-ah • Noun
מגילה
A long, tedious, exhaustively over-detailed story, document, or ordeal.
Originally refers to the Scroll of Esther read at Purim (notoriously long). Modernly used when you ask a simple question and get a 40-minute, multi-generational epic in response.
Emphasis on the 'GILL' (like a fish's gill). Roll the final 'ah' out with a theatrical sigh of exhaustion.
Standard YIVO transliteration: megile
Etymology: From Hebrew megillah (scroll), specifically the Book of Esther. 'The whole megillah' invokes the length of that scroll's public reading on Purim.
"I just asked how he was doing and he gave me the whole megillah about his lower back pain."
"I asked the support rep for a simple API reset and they sent me a ten-page megillah of security protocols."