tale

an old wives' tale

a piece of advice or an idea which a lot of people believed in the past but which we now know is wrong. It's an old wives' tale that drinking alcohol before you go to bed helps you sleep.

See also: old

live to tell the tale

to still be alive after a dangerous or frightening experience. I should imagine very few people have fallen from that height and lived to tell the tale. I had dinner with her and lived to tell the tale.

See also: live, tell

a tall story/tale

a story or a statement that is difficult to believe because it is too exciting or interesting. He told me a tall story about having met some top models in a nightclub.

See also: story, tall

tell its own tale (British & Australian)

if something tells its own tale, it shows the truth about a situation. She may smile in public, but the expression in her eyes tells its own tale.

See also: tell

a tell-tale

tell tales - to tell someone in authority about something bad that someone has done because you want to cause trouble for them. Bullying often goes unreported because children don't want to be seen as tell-tales.

Thereby/Therein hangs a tale. (British & Australian, humorous)

something that you say when you have been asked about something that needs a long explanation. 'So what were you doing in Nick's garage at three o'clock in the morning?' 'Ah, thereby hangs a tale.'

See also: hang, therein