TELLTALE

revealing, telling, telltale

(adjective) disclosing unintentionally something concealed; “a telling smile”; “a telltale panel of lights”; “a telltale patch of oil on the water marked where the boat went down”

tattletale, tattler, taleteller, talebearer, telltale, blabbermouth

(noun) someone who gossips indiscreetly

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

telltale (plural telltales)

One who divulges private information with intent to hurt others.

Synonyms: blabbermouth, gossip, rumormonger, talebearer, Thesaurus:gossiper

(chiefly, US, slang) Tattletale; squealer.

(figuratively) Something that serves to reveal something else.

(music) A movable piece of ivory, lead, or other material, connected to the bellows of an organ, whose position indicates when the wind is exhausted.

(nautical) A length of yarn or ribbon attached to a sail or shroud etc to indicate the direction of the flow of the air relative to the boat.

(nautical) A mechanical attachment to the steering wheel, which, in the absence of a tiller, shows the position of the helm.

(nautical) A compass in the cabin of a vessel, usually placed where the captain can see it at all hours, and thus inform himself of the vessel's course.

(engineering) A machine or contrivance for indicating or recording something, particularly for keeping a check upon employees (factory hands, watchmen, drivers, etc.) by revealing to their employers what they have done or omitted.

A bird, the tattler.

Adjective

telltale (comparative more telltale, superlative most telltale)

Revealing something, especially something not intended to be known.

Source: Wiktionary


Tell"tale`, a.

Definition: Telling tales; babbling. "The telltale heart." Poe.

Tell"tale`, n.

1. One who officiously communicates information of the private concerns of others; one who tells that which prudence should suppress.

2. (Mus.)

Definition: A movable piece of ivory, lead, or other material, connected with the bellows of an organ, that gives notice, by its position, when the wind is exhausted.

3. (Naut.) (a) A mechanical attachment to the steering wheel, which, in the absence of a tiller, shows the position of the helm. (b) A compass in the cabin of a vessel, usually placed where the captain can see it at all hours, and thus inform himself of the vessel's course.

4. (Mach.)

Definition: A machine or contrivance for indicating or recording something, particularly for keeping a check upon employees, as factory hands, watchmen, drivers, check takers, and the like, by revealing to their employers what they have done or omitted.

5. (Zoöl.)

Definition: The tattler. See Tattler.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

22 May 2024

INFERIOR

(adjective) having an orbit between the sun and the Earth’s orbit; “Mercury and Venus are inferior planets”


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, the most massive cup of coffee contained 22,739.14 liters and was created by Alcaldía Municipal de Chinchiná (Colombia) at Parque de Bolívar, Chinchiná, Caldas, Colombia, on 15 June 2019. Fifty people worked for more than a month to build this giant cup. The drink prepared was Arabic coffee.

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