1893, “Case No. 2: Phillips vs. The Railroad Co.”, inThe Counsellor: The New York Law School Law Journal, page63:
A railroad company, which has properly erected a “telltale,” or signal board, to give warning of the approach of a train to a bridge and which lights the place at night by an electric light, is not responsible for injury caused at night by the “telltale” to a brakeman who had been passing under it at regular intervals for five weeks, though when injured he was standing upon a new car higher than those before used, and though he ad received no warning from the company as to the danger of standing upon such a car while passing under the "telltale".
1901, National Fire Protection Association,Proceedings - Volume 5, page127:
A floattelltale to be provided which shall connect with indicator on first floor by a small chain run through 1-2 inch pipe and over pulleys well guarded against the weather.
1960 November, David Morgan, “"Piggyback"—U.S. success story”, inTrains Illustrated, page684:
For example, when trailers containing new automobiles were first piggybacked two areas of potential damage became evident: (1) diesel locomotive exhaust left a film of oil on the new autos; and (2) auto windshields could be scarred or cracked by the metal-tipped "tell-tales" which warn men atop trains of oncoming bridges or tunnels. Accordingly, automobiles aboard piggyback flats are usually coupled into the train 15 or more cars behind the locomotive; andtelltales have been raised.
1980,The Code of Federal Regulations of the United States of America, page150:
Except for informational readout displays, each discrete and distincttelltale shall be of the color shown in column 2 of Table 2.
1994, United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and Regulations, page26:
In order to resolve the discrepancy and permit the use oftelltales in informational readout displays, the agency proposed the following requirement:Telltales and gauges incorporated into informational readout displays ( a ) Shall have not less than two levels of light intensity, a higher one for day and a lower one for nighttime conditions. (b) In the case oftelltales amd gauges not equipped with a variable light intensity control shall have a light intensity at the higher level[…]
2000, Dany Page, Jorge G. Hirsch,From the Sun to the Great Attractor, page49:
In most cases the event is shielded by a large mass and onlytelltales arrive on earth. Suchtelltales include neutrinos, or even some form of radiation.
2003, Eric Martin, Arun Sharma, Frank Stephan, “On Ordinal VC-Dimension and Some Notions of Complexity”, in Ricard Gavalda, Klaus P. Jantke, Eiji Takimoto, editors,Algorithmic Learning Theory, page54:
It can be claimed that VC-dimension is to PAC-learning what finitetelltales are to Inductive inference.
2013, Harold Gatty,Finding Your Way Without Map or Compass:
Just as small pieces of rock produce telltale directional noon holes, so do large pieces of rock on snow producetelltales: but thesetelltales are of rather a different kind.
(nautical) Acompass in thecabin of a vessel, usually placed where thecaptain can see it at all hours, and thus inform himself of the vessel's course.
(engineering) Amachine orcontrivance for indicating or recording something, particularly for keeping a check uponemployees (factory hands, watchmen, drivers, etc.) by revealing to their employers what they have done or omitted.
2012, Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka,The Origins of Life, page130:
"Metamorphoses . . ." is the title of a book oftelltales (or serialised fables) written by Lucius Apulei¡us, a neo-platonist priest in the second century A.D.
2018, Dawood Kaloti,The Telltale Leaflet: From Palestine to Stockholm:
Thistelltale is not like the story that you put in the hands of your children, or those narrated by mothers in their children's bedrooms in Western Europe before sleep. This is atelltale that is not welcome but is forbidden to be distributed.
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions atWiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Revealing something, especially something not intended to be known.
I noticed the snow was dirty, atelltale sign of recent human presence.
Atelltale blush crept into her cheeks as he approached.
2025 June 15, Troy S. Teller, “A Duel in the Skies”, inAwakening (A Road of Magic; 1),→ISBN,page18:
Then she noticed something the huntress's hood had hidden before: Her ears. Thetelltale long pointed ears of elven heritage.An elvess? Here in the Empire? Why would she be an Imperial hunter? Who is she?
