tale

noun

/teɪl/

Idioms

jump to other results

a story created using the imagination, especially one that is full of action and adventure
- a coming-of-age/morality tale
- tale of something The story is a classic tale of love and betrayal.
- Dickens’ ‘A Tale of Two Cities’
- His latest book is a delightful children’s tale about talking animals.
see also fairy tale, folk tale
Homophones tail | tale
tail tale
/teɪl/

/teɪl/
- tail noun
  The peacock fans out its magnificent tail to attract females.
- tail verb
  A spy is sent to tail the family and find out everything they do.
- tale noun
  She told the children the tale of the tortoise and the hare.
Extra Examples
- It's a moral tale about a baker and a shoemaker.
- a dark tale of sexual obsession
- a tale about a hungry snake
- a tale set in 19th-century Moscow
- an epic tale of courage and heroism
- tales of adventure
- the curious tale of the man who sold his hair
- the rags-to-riches tale of an orphan who becomes a star
Topics Literature and writingb2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- long
- rambling
- familiar
- …
verb + tale
- narrate
- recount
- regale somebody with
- …
tale + verb
- begin
- unfold
- concern somebody/something
- …
preposition
- tale about
- tale of
phrases
- a tale of woe
- (have) a tale to tell
- tell tales
- …
See full entry
tale (of something) an exciting spoken description of an event, which may not be completely true
- I love listening to his tales of life at sea.
- I've heard tales of people seeing ghosts in that house.
- She regaled us with tales of her wild youth.
- The team's tale of woe continued on Saturday (= they lost another match).
- Her experiences provide a cautionary tale (= a warning) for us all.
see also telltale
Extra Examples
- She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.
- the sorry tale of his marriage breakdown
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- long
- rambling
- familiar
- …
verb + tale
- narrate
- recount
- regale somebody with
- …
tale + verb
- begin
- unfold
- concern somebody/something
- …
preposition
- tale about
- tale of
phrases
- a tale of woe
- (have) a tale to tell
- tell tales
- …
See full entry

Word OriginOld English talu ‘telling, something told’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch taal ‘speech’ and German Zahl ‘number’, also to tell.

Idioms

live, etc. to tell the tale

to survive a difficult or dangerous experience so that you can tell others what really happenedTopics Dangerc2

an old wives’ tale

(disapproving) an old idea or belief that people now know is not correct

tell a different story/tale

to give some information that is different from what you expect or have been told
- These drugs are widely believed to be effective medications. The data, however, tell a different story.

tell its own tale/story

to explain itself, without needing any further explanation or comment
- Her face told its own story.

tell tales (about something/on somebody)

to tell somebody about something that another person has done wrong related noun telltale

单词	tale
释义	tale noun /teɪl/ /teɪl/ Idioms jump to other results a story created using the imagination, especially one that is full of action and adventure a coming-of-age/morality tale tale of something The story is a classic tale of love and betrayal. Dickens’ ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ His latest book is a delightful children’s tale about talking animals. see also fairy tale, folk tale Homophones tail \| taletail tale /teɪl/ /teɪl/ tail noun The peacock fans out its magnificent tail to attract females. tail verb A spy is sent to tail the family and find out everything they do. tale noun She told the children the tale of the tortoise and the hare. Extra Examples It's a moral tale about a baker and a shoemaker. a dark tale of sexual obsession a tale about a hungry snake a tale set in 19th-century Moscow an epic tale of courage and heroism tales of adventure the curious tale of the man who sold his hair the rags-to-riches tale of an orphan who becomes a star Topics Literature and writingb2 Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective long rambling familiar … verb + tale narrate recount regale somebody with … tale + verb begin unfold concern somebody/something … preposition tale about tale of phrases a tale of woe (have) a tale to tell tell tales … See full entry tale (of something) an exciting spoken description of an event, which may not be completely true I love listening to his tales of life at sea. I've heard tales of people seeing ghosts in that house. She regaled us with tales of her wild youth. The team's tale of woe continued on Saturday (= they lost another match). Her experiences provide a cautionary tale (= a warning) for us all. see also telltale Extra Examples She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence. the sorry tale of his marriage breakdown Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective long rambling familiar … verb + tale narrate recount regale somebody with … tale + verb begin unfold concern somebody/something … preposition tale about tale of phrases a tale of woe (have) a tale to tell tell tales … See full entry Word OriginOld English talu ‘telling, something told’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch taal ‘speech’ and German Zahl ‘number’, also to tell. Idioms live, etc. to tell the tale to survive a difficult or dangerous experience so that you can tell others what really happenedTopics Dangerc2 an old wives’ tale (disapproving) an old idea or belief that people now know is not correct tell a different story/tale to give some information that is different from what you expect or have been told These drugs are widely believed to be effective medications. The data, however, tell a different story. tell its own tale/story to explain itself, without needing any further explanation or comment Her face told its own story. tell tales (about something/on somebody) to tell somebody about something that another person has done wrong related noun telltale
随便看	repetitiveness rephrase replace replaceable replacement replay replay_1 replay_2 replayability replayable replay value replay-value replenish replenishment replete replica replicable replicant replicate replication replicator reply reply_2 repo man report