The honest answer often sounds less cool than the made-up one. Say it anyway.

The made-up version is built to land. It is smoother, funnier, more impressive, because it was designed backwards from the reaction you wanted. The true answer is usually plainer and sometimes a little boring, and that plainness is the cost of it being real. Over time people can feel the difference even when they cannot name it.

Next time you catch yourself about to upgrade a story, stop at the true version and let it be less impressive. Usually nothing bad happens, and you get to stop keeping track.