tell it to the judge

Barnaby Rudge

[Cockney slang]judge

don't tell me

Used to introduce a guess at a fact or situation, as if forestalling the other speaker's utterance.

I can tell you

Emphasises the truth of a statement.

I tell a lie

I am mistaken; I thought that what I said (or wrote) was true, but I have just realised that it is not.

I tell you

Synonym of I can tell you.

I'll tell you

Synonym of I can tell you.

judge a book by its cover

To make judgments about things or people by considering external appearances alone.

judge, jury and executioner

Someone with the roles of judge, jury and executioner; someone with full power to judge and punish others unilaterally.