From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtell talestell talesBritish EnglishLIE to tell someone in authority about something wrong that someone else has done SYN tattle American Englishtell tales to Don’t go telling tales to the teacher! → tale
Examples from the Corpus
tell tales• Daisy Venables, you naughty girl, have you been telling tales again?• According to the children, telling tales on each other was as bad as cheating.• Nearly anyone who had been in an iron lung could tell tales of being stranded without breathing help.• Edwin was long on charm but short on substance, was the feeling; he told tales a bit too deftly.• "Mum, Daniel's broken a plate." "Don't tell tales, dear."• Of course, Albee is quite accustomed to telling tales about vicious people stuck in broken relationships.• No child should be put in the powerful position of having to tell tales on another child.• No one to tell tales, then.• I don't want to tell tales out of school.tell talestell talesBritish EnglishLIE DOWN to say something that is not true about someone else, in order to cause trouble for them – used especially about children an unpopular boy, who was always telling tales on the other children → telltale2 → tellExamples from the Corpus
tell tales• Edwin was long on charm but short on substance, was the feeling; he told tales a bit too deftly.• Of course, Albee is quite accustomed to telling tales about vicious people stuck in broken relationships.• Nearly anyone who had been in an iron lung could tell tales of being stranded without breathing help.• No child should be put in the powerful position of having to tell tales on another child.• As soon as she entered the room she knew that Clare had already been telling tales; or at least complaining to her colleagues.• I don't want to tell tales out of school.• No one to tell tales, then. 