the.com/anecdote
A true story's confident cousin, dressed up just enough to win the dinner party.
means A short, often personal account of a real incident, told to illustrate a point or simply entertain.
from From Greek anekdota, meaning things unpublished — originally Emperor Justinian's juicy court secrets too scandalous to print, leaked by historian Procopius.
Plural originStarted as a noun for unreleased writings.
Not dataThe plural of anecdote is famously not evidence.
Royal gossipFirst anecdotes exposed a sixth-century empress's scandals.