tell time
Keep track of the hours; also, know how to read a clock or watch. For example, This old clock still tells time quite accurately, or He taught his niece to tell time by using a cuckoo clock. This expression uses tell in the sense of “reckon” or “calculate,” a usage dating from about a.d. 1000.
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Words nearby tell time
Telloh, tell on, tell someone where to get off, telltale, tell tales, tell time, tellurate, tellurian, telluric, telluric acid, telluride
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
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