Tell

Examples

• All

• Ever hear of a switzer name of William Tell?

  Shoot Out (1971)

• I guess it's about time for our William Tell routine.

  Naked Lunch (1991)

• All right, Mr. Tell, I'll see you then

  The Palace (2023)

• Who do you think you are, William Tell?

  The Wild Geese (1978)

• For this refusal, Tell was imprisoned and eventually forced into the adventure of shooting an apple placed on his son's head.

  Academic text (2004)

• The story of William Tell takes on an added dimension when students hear Rossini's William Tell Overture.

  Academic text (2005)

• The DJ plays the Rocky theme, the William Tell Overture, and Pearl Jam's "Alive."

  Fiction book (2002)

• "There is more truth and beauty and possibly more practical benefit... in the thrilling story of William Tell than in the remnants of history that some would-be historians have spared to us from which to reconstruct our idol if we can," C. H. Howard asserted in an article defending Whitman.83

  Academic text (2018)

• The story of William Tell is a famous legend about a skilled marksman and his son.

• The tale of William Tell includes the dramatic moment when he shot an apple off his son's head.

Synonyms

W

William Tell

vsTell

4 7.8

A Swiss folk hero famous for shooting an apple off his son's head with a crossbow

is a legendary patriot famed for that deed in popular folklore

Idioms

L

let me tell you

• Informal

678 4.4

To start a story or show that what follows is important

T

to tell the truth

• Informal

292 3.2

To say something that is true even if it is surprising

T

tell you the truth

• Informal

265 4.5

Say you are being honest before you speak

T

time will tell

32 3.3

What happens becomes clear later

P

pray tell

• Informal

24 8.8

A polite, often joking way to ask for information after a surprising statement

T

to tell a tale

14 3.5

Say a story about something that happened or show signs of it

T

to tell tales out of school

• Informal

2 8.4

To tell secrets about someone to other people

T

to tell it to the judge

• Informal

1 8.7

Make an excuse that nobody believes and only a judge cares about

T

to tell someone where to shove it

• Offensive

1 9.9

Rudely say to someone that you want them to go away

T

to tell it to the marines

• Archaic

1 9.6

Say you do not believe someone's story

T

to tell its own tale

1 7.2

To show its history without using words

D

does Macy's tell Gimbel's?

• Archaic

9.9

A question people use to show someone would not tell a rival or that something will not happen

P

piss on my leg and tell me it's raining

• Offensive

9.9

To lie to someone in an obvious way while expecting them to believe it

Compounds

T

tell-all book

• Literature

6 4.7

A book that reveals private details about people

Surface Forms

Etymology