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pray tell

American

[prey tel] / ˈpreɪ ˈtɛl /

verb phrase

(used to emphasize a request for information, often to suggest that the answer is either obvious or unknowable).

You say there is no moon, but what, pray tell, rises in the sky every night?
Just what, pray tell, do those people actually do?

First recorded in 1840–45

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Then, pray tell, where was former President George W. Bush this past election?

From Washington Times • Nov. 14, 2022

What, pray tell, is the White House saying?

From Washington Post • Aug. 9, 2022

What, pray tell, had roused freedom from its slumber?

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2022

How, pray tell, had they succeeded in eluding my grasp?

From Salon • Sep. 10, 2020

“And what, pray tell, is the Big Creek Missile Agency?”

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023