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telltale - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'telltale' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Telltale [ a.]
- Telling tales; babbling.
2 . Telltale [ n.]
- One who officiously communicates information of the private concerns of others; one who tells that which prudence should suppress.
- 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.
- A mechanical attachment to the steering wheel, which, in the absence of a tiller, shows the position of the helm.
- 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.
- 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.
- The tattler. See Tattler.

Meaning of 'telltale' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . telltale [ s]
Meaning (1):
- disclosing unintentionally something concealed
Example in sentence:
  • a telling smile;
  • a telltale panel of lights;
  • a telltale patch of oil on the water marked where the boat went down

Nearby Words:

telamones telangiectasis telangiectasy telarly telary teledu telegram telegrammic telegraph telegraphed

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