tale

tale
[[t]te͟ɪl[/t]]
♦♦♦
tales
1) N-COUNT: oft in names A tale is a story, often involving magic or exciting events.

...a collection of stories, poems and folk tales...

Episodes 1 and 2 of Tales of the City will be shown together on Tuesday.

2) N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N of n You can refer to an interesting, exciting, or dramatic account of a real event as a tale.

The media have been filled with tales of horror and loss resulting from Monday's earthquake.

...a property analyst, full of cheery tales about soaring share prices and new capital pouring into property companies.

Syn:
3) See also , old wives' tale, tall tale
4) PHRASE: V inflects If you survive a dangerous or frightening experience and so are able to tell people about it afterwards, you can say that you lived to tell the tale.

You lived to tell the tale this time but who knows how far you can push your luck.

5) PHRASE: V inflects If someone tells tales about you, they tell other people things about you which are untrue or which you wanted to be kept secret.
See also tell-tale

I hesitated, not wanting to tell tales about my colleague.


English dictionary. 2008.

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Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • talé — talé …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • Tale — Tale, n. [AS. talu number, speech, narrative; akin to D. taal speech, language, G. zahl number, OHG. zala, Icel. tal, tala, number, speech, Sw. tal, Dan. tal number, tale speech, Goth. talzjan to instruct. Cf. {Tell}, v. t., {Toll} a tax, also… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • tale — W3 [teıl] n [: Old English; Origin: talu] 1.) a story about exciting imaginary events tale of ▪ tales of adventure ▪ a book of old Japanese folk tales (=traditional stories) ▪ a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen ▪ a caution …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Tale — may refer to:*Cautionary tale, a traditional story told in folklore, to warn its hearer of a danger *Fairy tale, a fictional story that usually features folkloric characters (such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, witches, giants, and talking… …   Wikipedia

  • tale — [ teıl ] noun count ** 1. ) a story about imaginary events or people: tale of: tales of bravery and romance 2. ) a spoken account of someone s experiences, especially when they are made to seem more exciting or unpleasant than they really were:… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • talé — talé, ée [ tale ] adj. • taulé « broyé » v. 1330; repris 1860; de taler ♦ Meurtri, taché, en parlant des fruits. Pêches talées. ⊗ HOM. Taller. ● talé Participe passé de taler. talé, ée [tale] adj. ÉTYM. V. 1330, taulé « …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • tale — [n1] story account, anecdote, fable, fairy tale, fiction, folk tale, legend, myth, narration, narrative, novel, relation, report, romance, saga, short story, yarn; concept 282 tale [n2] made up story canard, chestnut*, clothesline*, cock and bull …   New thesaurus

  • Tale — (Балтэзерс,Латвия) Категория отеля: Адрес: Senču prospekts 45, Балтэзерс, LV 2164, Латвия …   Каталог отелей

  • tale — (n.) O.E. talu story, tale, the action of telling, from P.Gmc. *talo (Cf. Du. taal speech, language ), from PIE root *del to recount, count. The secondary English sense of number, numerical reckoning (c.1200) probably was the primary one in… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Tale — Tale, n. See {Tael}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Tale — Tale, v. i. To tell stories. [Obs.] Chaucer. Gower. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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