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definitions

show and tell

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noun

an activity for young children, especially in school, in which each participant produces an object of unusual interest and tells something about it.
Facetious. any informative presentation or demonstration, as to introduce a new product or divulge and explain a special plan.

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Nearby words

  1. shovelful,
  2. shovelhead,
  3. shovelnose,
  4. shovelnose sturgeon,
  5. show,
  6. show bag,
  7. show bill,
  8. show biz,
  9. show business,
  10. show card

Origin of show and tell

First recorded in 1950–55
Related formsshow-and-tell, adjectiveshow-and-tell·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for show-and-tell

Word Origin and History for show-and-tell

show-and-tell

n.

elementary school teaching tool, 1948, American English.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with show-and-tell

show and tell

A public presentation or display, as in It was a terrible bore, what with their show and tell of every last detail about their trip around the world. This expression originated in the 1940s to describe a learning exercise for young children, in which each child in a group brings some object to show the others and talks about it.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.