tell its own tale
To speak for itself; to require no explanation.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“The messy room tells its own tale.”
“When we saw the broken window and the open safe, the scene told its own tale.”
“The faded photographs and dusty furniture in the abandoned house told their own tale of a family that had long since moved on.”
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a little bird told me
I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose.
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all told
With everything included, counted, or summed; in total.
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cautionary tale
A story, originally told in folklore, to warn its audience of a certain danger.
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don't tell me
Used to introduce a guess at a fact or situation, as if forestalling the other speaker's utterance.
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I can tell you
Emphasises the truth of a statement.
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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.
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I tell you
Synonym of I can tell you.
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I'll tell you
Synonym of I can tell you.
Last updated August 10, 2026