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• William Tell
  William Tell

  noun

  a legendary Swiss patriot forced by the Austrian governor to shoot an apple off his son's head with bow and arrow.
• Tell, William
  Tell, William

  A legendary hero of Switzerland, famous for his skill as an archer. A tyrannical official forced him to shoot an apple off his son's head.

William Tell

American  

noun

1. a legendary Swiss patriot forced by the Austrian governor to shoot an apple off his son's head with bow and arrow.

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Tell, William Cultural  

1. A legendary hero of Switzerland, famous for his skill as an archer. A tyrannical official forced him to shoot an apple off his son's head.

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Example Sentences

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William Tell Tell, William

Conrad has returned to Laguna Beach where she and her husband, the Something Corporate guitarist turned attorney William Tell, are raising their two sons.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026

Finally, the film gets surrealistic and even incorporates the William Tell scene from Burroughs' own life.

From Salon ● Dec. 1, 2024

There is Rat Island, nothing more than a pile of rocks with a strange statue of the Swiss folk hero William Tell.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 12, 2021

As the movie opens, Isaac’s character, William Tell, explains how he came to learn his trade: in military prison, where he’s been serving a sentence that only later comes fully into focus.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 8, 2021

William Tell was a good shot and put an arrow through an apple on his son's head.

From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos

Said the Herald-American: "Tell William . . . and let William Tell."

From Time Magazine Archive

Tell William and the other boys to keep their eyes open for him.

From Ruth Fielding in the Great Northwest Or, The Indian Girl Star of the Movies by Alice B. Emerson

"Tell William," said the doctor, "to drive round to the surgery before going on to Hamblyn Manor."

From The Squire's Daughter by Silas K(itto) Hocking

Tell William Platt I don’t care what he does.

From A Bundle of Letters by Henry James

Tell William Platt I don’t care a speck what he does.

From Lady Barbarina The Siege of London, An International Episode and Other Tales by Henry James