verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
an instinct tells sb sth
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Every instinct told her that he was telling the truth.
ask/tell sb flat out
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She asked him flat out if he was seeing another woman.
can tell/see the difference (= can recognize how two things are different )
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I can’t really see the difference between these two colours.
common sense tells you/me etc sth
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Common sense tells me that I should get more sleep.
history shows/tells (that)
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History shows that the usual response to violent protests is repression.
omit to mention/say/tell etc
▪
Oliver omitted to mention that he was married.
pray tell
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And who, pray tell , is this?
show and tell
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Ramona brought in a fossil for show and tell.
tell a joke (= repeat a funny story )
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He was always telling jokes and making people laugh.
tell a tale
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He liked telling tales of his adventures in the wilderness.
tell fibs
▪
He’s been known to tell fibs .
tell (sb) a lie
▪
He got into trouble for telling a lie.
tell sb a secret
▪
Shall I tell you a secret?
tell (sb) a story
▪
Would you like me to tell you a story?
tell (sb) a story ( also recount/relate a story formal )
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I'd better tell you the whole story from the beginning.
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He laughed as he recounted the story.
tell sb the news
▪
Jack called him to tell him the good news.
tell sb the way
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Can you tell me the way to the nearest post office, please?
tell sb your view ( also let sb have your view )
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We want you to tell us your views.
tell the police ( also inform the police formal )
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I think we should tell the police.
tell the press sth
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‘It was a really tough decision,’ she told the press.
tell the truth
▪
It's better to tell the truth.
telling porkies
▪
Was he telling porkies again?
telling...life story
▪
She insisted on telling me her whole life story .
tells...whopper
▪
She tells one whopper after another.
the instructions say/tell you to do sth
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The instructions say that you should take the tablets after meals.
the legend tells how
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The legend tells how the King of Troy offended Poseidon, the sea god.
told...a few home truths
▪
It’s time someone told him a few home truths .
told...the facts of life
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Mum told me the facts of life when I was twelve.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
lie
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How often had he told me a lie is always sinful and bad in itself.
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But if there is no punishment, it is perfectly acceptable to tell lies .
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As he crossed the stile into the first field, Mungo felt a pang of shame at telling Alice a lie .
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In the process, it will inevitably begin to tell itself plausible lies .
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Why hadn't she told a white lie and claimed she had a licence?
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We can not tell a lie , so we confessed we were getting way too many.
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How much of what you get told is lies ?
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For one thing, telling a lie is like eating peanuts.
news
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Then she hurried out to the kitchen to tell them all the news .
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I ran down the hill to the home of a classmate and told her the news .
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Baseball owners have been told that News Corp. alone was making the purchase.
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She squealed her agreement and raced into the house to tell her brother the news .
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I told the news desk they should send some one else, one of the junior reporters.
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Our spies tells us the news director pressed the suspended Epstein for video footage, which he adamantly refused to provide.
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Charity explained that she had decided not to tell Clarissa until the news about Charles was definite too.
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Sitting on a red vinyl padded stool at the breakfast bar, she told us the sad news .
story
▪
That's the story they tell anyway.
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There are other good stories to be told .
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Not Virgil, especially not the Aeneid, where he has no story worth telling , no sense of personality.
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A similar story was told by missions sent to study Mars.
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Then, story telling by the fire.
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As the story was told I was very gentle and self-effacing, and she was out to damage every-thing that she could.
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If Sister doesn't get a move on, they could always content themselves with the shortest children's story ever told .
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This might lead, in time, to duplication of some inexpensive books made from the stories people tell .
tale
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Bigger waves undoubtedly occur, but those who witness them do not return to tell the tale .
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It is difficult now to tell which tales are real and which apocryphal.
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But here and there some found action on this very camp, and didn't live to tell the tale .
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That way, at least, they would live to tell the tale .
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Then I told about the tales the neighbours were telling about her Mum and her men friends.
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What could have led the President to tell such tales ?
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All these are antisemitic texts, telling a tale of conspiracy only slightly more sophisticated than the Protocols.
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Edwin was long on charm but short on substance, was the feeling; he told tales a bit too deftly.
truth
▪
You have got to find out whether B is telling the truth or not.
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Talk it over with her and let her tell you the truth .
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Should he dare to tell her the truth ?
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Are the consequences of telling the truth too severe?
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To tell you the truth , I wasn't looking forward to it.
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Again the eyes looked at her sharply, and they saw she was telling the truth .
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That's all I have to tell you about how to tell the truth .
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To tell you the truth I was nervous going out there myself, too close to them ledges.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
(I) tell a lie
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For one thing, telling a lie is like eating peanuts.
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However, telling lies to the police is assisting in the retention of stolen goods: Kanwar, above.
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No, I tell a lie .
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They fight viciously and tell lies to get each other into trouble.
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We can not tell a lie , so we confessed we were getting way too many.
(only) time will tell
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Only time will tell if this agreement will bring a lasting peace.
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BProbably, but time will tell.
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Only time will tell if this is a serious effort at improving both public sector accountability and overall performance.
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Only time will tell whether it can hold its place in this competitive field.
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That is the real test of leadership, and only time will tell.
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The expert answers by saying that the story is very important and only time will tell about the future.
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Whether that was worth the price of the fare, only time will tell.
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Whether the Order will continue to grow, only time will tell.
I don't mind admitting/telling you/saying etc
I hate to say it, but .../I hate to tell you this, but ...
I need hardly say/tell/remind etc
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Birds have never been one of my major interests, I need hardly say.
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How I welcomed Night Duty, I need hardly say.
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I need hardly say how heartily I sympathize with the purposes of the Audubon Society.
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I need hardly say that I don't care to have things so.
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I need hardly say that my wife's first impression of Lewis differed somewhat from my own.
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Mr Bawn, I need hardly tell you, is a man of considerable dignity and I would not leave him here.
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Type 4 I need hardly say how glad I am.
a little bird told me (sth)
all told
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All told, 28 people died and 100 were wounded.
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Craig MacTavish retired last season as the last player to compete without a helmet-17 years all told.
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He couldn't have bled a great deal, perhaps a cupful all told.
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He said the doctors all told him the injury was going to happen anyway.
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It's all told in a bouncy rhyme, with outrageously funny pictures.
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It will take four to six years, all told.
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Our 12-day tour, Rome to Sicily, cost us each about $ 1, 500, all told.
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There were about twenty of us, all told; mostly McHoans but with a smattering of civilians.
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They take eighteen hours all told, including the overnight soaking.
as/so far as I know/I can remember/I can tell/I can see etc
can see/spot/tell sth a mile off
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But I think he's lovely, and you can tell a mile off that he likes you.
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He's a hawkeye, and can spot one a mile off, like that faraway kestrel.
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Our sportsdesk can spot from a mile off a person who can not tell an in-swinger from a bouncer.
don't know/can't tell etc which is which
if (the) truth be known/told
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After all, I am not so different from anyone else, if the truth be known.
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He could never, if the truth were told, stand against his wife.
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He looked lonely, if the truth were told.
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I bet they did it worse than us if the truth was known.
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I puzzle a lot, if the truth be known.
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I suppose if the truth was known, I was narked at being pushed around.
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Nearly thirteen and a half if the truth be known.
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You'd rather have a day out at York racecourse than at Headingley if truth were known, wouldn't you?
lose something in the translation/telling
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It probably loses something in the translation from the original Latin.
now you tell me!
say sth/tell sb sth to their face
tell sb flat
tell sb where to get off
▪
"Did you give him the money?" "No, I told him where to get off."
tell sb's fortune
tell tales
▪
"Mum, Daniel's broken a plate." "Don't tell tales , dear."
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According to the children, telling tales on each other was as bad as cheating.
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Daisy Venables, you naughty girl, have you been telling tales again?
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Edwin was long on charm but short on substance, was the feeling; he told tales a bit too deftly.
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I don't want to tell tales out of school.
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Nearly anyone who had been in an iron lung could tell tales of being stranded without breathing help.
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No child should be put in the powerful position of having to tell tales on another child.
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No one to tell tales , then.
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Of course, Albee is quite accustomed to telling tales about vicious people stuck in broken relationships.
tell that to the Marines
there is no telling
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This is a highly dangerous trend, because there is no telling where it will end.
to tell (you) the truth
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A bit like Mrs Riley, to tell the truth .
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But to tell the truth , for a long time I've been slightly lost as a dealer.
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Did people not trust me to tell the truth ?
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He bathed a lot and never smelled even alive, to tell the truth .
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I don't know a great deal about flowers, to tell the truth .
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They must learn how to tell the truth and listen.
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We had a pretty good time I suppose, but to tell the truth I didn't feel like a party much.
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You want us to tell the truth ?
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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"Can you tell what this is with your eyes shut?" "It tastes of strawberry, but I'm not sure."
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"Wait here!" he told the children.
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"What colour was the car?" "I couldn't tell in the dark."
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A sign told us it was the highest village in England.
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At the moment, we can only tell the twins apart by looking at their name tags.
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Can you tell me how to log on to the Internet?
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Can you tell me the quickest way to the centre of town?
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Can you tell us where the nearest garage is?
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Come here Eva - let me tell you a secret.
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Do as you're told and go and wash your hands.
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Don't tell anyone about this just yet.
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Don't tell me how to behave in public!
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Have you told anyone about this?
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He didn't tell me where he got this information.
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His years in the army certainly tell in his attitude to his work.
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I'm telling you this in the strictest confidence, so not a word to anyone.
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I'm in charge here, and I'm not going to have anyone telling me what to do.
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I told him to go and see a doctor if he was worried.
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I find it really difficult to tell the difference between Frank and his brother.
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I thought I told you to be in bed by 10 o'clock!
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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He told me about his time in the delta.
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I told him about my dream for a course there.
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I told Mrs Viney to leave our supper ready.
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Maybe, he's told, he's much more than a celebrity.
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Remember you promised me you would never tell anybody.
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Women are told it's prostitution or a beating, or death.