tale

[[t]te͟ɪl[/t]]

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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:

story

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.