tell tales

Idioms  

1. Divulge secrets, as in Don't trust him; he's apt to tell tales. This expression was first recorded about 1350. A variant, tell tales out of school, first recorded in 1530, presumably alluded to schoolchildren gossiping but was soon broadened to revealing secret or private information. Both may be obsolescent.

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Example Sentences

So he decides to keep appearing in clubs to tell tales of his relationship woes, lacing the commentary with rueful remarks that are vaguely comic, though nothing he says is actually funny.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025

On Sundays in the old days, the whole family gathered at the Southern California chicken ranch to hear the old man tell tales of the Mexican Revolution of 1910.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2022

It’s a marvelous introduction to his ability to tell tales even as the ground shifts beneath our feet.

From New York Times • Jul. 20, 2022

My siblings and I tell tales of our mother that bring her into the present.

From Washington Post • Jul. 23, 2021

And at night, they gathered in the dare to tell tales.

From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer

Related Words

• blab