telling tales
Reporting others' misdeeds
Telling tales is reporting someone's misbehavior to an authority, especially when done by children to parents or teachers.
The phrase carries a whiff of disapproval—the talebearer is being disloyal or petty rather than righteously informing: Stop telling tales on your sister.
British usage favors this phrase where Americans might say tattling.
- rumorUnconfirmed circulating story
- spreading rumorsCirculating unverified talk
- gossipInformal talk spreading rumors
- storyAccount of events
- divulgenceAct of making known
tattling · exaggeration · storytelling · scandal · fabrication · fib · white lie · blabbering · narrative · fish story · parable · snitching · betrayal · loose lips · fable · lie · yarn · hearsay
- campingtent, campfire, campsite, campground, sleeping bag
- deceptionlie, lies, lying, fake, fraud
- gossiprumor, rumors, gossip, hearsay, whisper
- disclosurerevealing, disclosing, disclosure, disclose, divulge
telling taleskeeping secrets
keeping mum · keeping quiet · saying nothing · turning a blind eye · discretion
telling taleshaving someone's back
Providing reliable support
turning a blind eye · looking the other way · stonewalling · closing ranks · omertà
tell, tale, telling, tales, tells, teller, tellers, retell, retelling