tell /tel/► SEE ALLdon’t tell meI tell a lieI tell youI can tell youI’m telling youI can’t tell you how, etc. …I/I’ll tell you whatI know whattell it how/like it is(go) tell it/that to the marinestell its own tale/storytell metell me about ittell me anothertell porkiestell the same tale/story (of sth)tell a different, another, etc. tale/storytell tales (about sb/sth)tell tales out of schooltell the timetell sb where to get offtell sb where they get offtell sb where to put/stick sthtell sb what they can do with sthtell the (whole) worldto tell (you) the truthwhat did I tell you?you never can tellyou can never tellnot know/not be able to tell one end of sth from the othertalk to/tell it to the hand (because/’cos the face ain’t listening)kiss and telllive to tell the talecan/could teach/tell sb a thing or two (about sb/sth)time (alone) will tellonly time will tell ●don’t ˈtell me (spoken, informal) used to say that you know or can guess what sb is going to say, especially because it is typical of them（表示已经知道或猜到对方想说什么）别又告诉我，不至于…吧◆Don’t tell me, you were late again! 别跟我说你又迟到了！●I tell a ˈlie (spoken) used to say that sth you have just said is not true or correct我说错了；我说的不对◆We first met in 1982, no, I tell a lie, it was 1983. 我们第一次见面是在 1982 年，不，我说错了，是 1983 年。●I ˈtell you●I can ˈtell you●I’m ˈtelling you●I can’t ˈtell you how, etc. … (spoken) used to emphasize what you are saying, especially when it is surprising or difficult to believe（用于强调，尤指使人惊奇或难以相信的事）我可以肯定地说，我敢说，你听我说◆It’s not as easy as it looks, I’m telling you. 你听我说，它不像看上去那么简单。◆I can’t tell you how happy I felt (= it is difficult to describe my happiness, because it was so great). 我没法跟你形容我当时有多高兴。●I/I’ll ˌtell you ˈwhat●ˌI know ˈwhat (spoken) said before making a suggestion（用于提出建议）我跟你说，我有个主意◆I tell you what — let’s ask Fred to lend us his car. 我跟你说，咱们去向弗雷德借车。◆I know what! Why don’t you buy her a CD? 我有主意了！你干吗不给她买张 CD 呢？●tell it how/like it ˈis (informal) tell sb sth honestly and directly实话实说；直言不讳◆All right, I’ll tell it like it is. I don’t love you Rachel, and I never have. 好吧，我跟你说实话。雷切尔，我不爱你，我从来就没爱过你。●(go) tell it/that to the maˈrines (saying, informal) used to say that you do not believe what sb is saying, promising, etc.骗鬼去吧；我才不信呢◆‘I’ll never smoke again!’ ‘Yeah? Go tell that to the marines.’ “我再也不抽烟了！”“是吗？ 骗鬼去吧。”ORIGINThis comes from the saying ‘that will do for the marines but the sailors won’t believe it’.这个习语源于俗语 that will do for the marines but the sailors won't believe it （假想的骑马水兵会相信，但水手们不会买账）。●tell its ˈown tale/storyexplain or show sth, without the need of any more explanations or comment不言而喻；明摆着；很明显◆The burned buildings and broken glass in the streets tell their own story. 街上那些烧毁的楼房和破碎的玻璃就说明了一切。●ˈtell me (spoken) used to introduce a question（用于提出问题）告诉我，跟我说◆Tell me, have you had lunch yet? 告诉我，你吃过午饭了吗？●ˈtell me about it (spoken) used to say that you understand what sb is talking about and have had the same experience你算说对了；的确；我也有同感◆‘I get so annoyed with Steve!’ ‘Tell me about it. He drives me crazy.’ “史蒂夫叫我烦透了！”“就是，他快把我逼疯了。”●tell me aˈnother (spoken) used for saying that you do not believe sb because they are joking or exaggerating别胡说了；我才不信呢◆‘I caught a fish that weighed 5 kilos.’ ‘Tell me another! I bet it didn’t even weigh one kilo.’ “我钓到一条 5 公斤的大鱼。”“别吹了，好吗？我敢打赌 1 公斤都不到。”●tell ˈporkies (BrE, informal, humorous) (usually used in progressive tenses通常用于进行时) say sth that is not true说瞎话；瞎编◆Can this be true, or is somebody telling porkies? 这是真的吗，还是什么人瞎编的？ORIGINIn rhyming slang, porky-pies means ‘lies’.在同韵俚语中，pork-pies （猪肉饼）表示 lies （谎言）。●tell the same tale/story (of sth)show the same thing反映出相同的情况◆The faces of these children tell the same tale of hunger and misery. 这些孩子个个都是一脸的饥饿和痛苦。●tell a ˈdifferent, aˈnother, etc. tale/storygive some information that is different from what you expect or have been told说的情况迥然不同；反映出来的是另一回事◆She sounded very calm, but her face told a different story. 她听上去很冷静，但脸上的表情却是另一码事。●tell ˈtales (about sb/sth) (BrE) tell sb, especially sb in authority, that another person has done something wrong（尤指向当权者）打小报告，揭人短处◆How did the boss know that I was late for work this morning? I think somebody’s been telling tales about me. 老板怎么知道我今天早上迟到了？我想肯定有人打我的小报告了。●tell ˌtales out of ˈschooltalk about the private affairs of a group or an organization to people who do not belong to it（向团体或组织以外的人）泄密，暴露隐情◆I shouldn’t tell tales out of school, but my company is in serious trouble. 我不应该泄露公司的机密，但是我们公司确实遇到了严重困难。●tell the ˈtime (BrE) (NAmEtell ˈtime) read the time from a clock, etc.认时间；懂得看表◆She’s only five — she hasn’t learnt to tell the time yet. 她只有五岁，还不会看时间。●tell sb ˌwhere to get ˈoff●tell sb ˌwhere they get ˈoff (BrE, informal) tell sb angrily that you do not like the way they are behaving and you no longer accept it严厉斥责某人；使某人有自知之明；叫某人规矩些◆He gets drunk every time we go to a party, so I’ve told him where to get off. 每次我们去参加聚会他总是喝得大醉，所以我训斥了他一顿。●tell sb where to ˈput/ˈstick sth●tell sb what they can ˈdo with sth (informal) make it clear to sb that you are angry and are rejecting what they are offering you让某人收起那一套；坚决拒绝某人的提议◆I was so furious I nearly told him where to stick his rotten job! 我气得不行，差点就告诉他把那破工作留给他自己干吧！●tell the (whole) ˈworldtell sth to everyone; tell sth publicly告诉所有人；公之于世◆Keep your voice down! We don’t want to tell the whole world about it! 小声点！我们可不想让全世界都知道！●to tell (you) the ˈtruthused when admitting sth（跟你）说实话，说真的，老实说◆To tell the truth, I fell asleep in the middle of her talk. 说真的，她讲到一半我就睡着了。●what did I ˈtell you? ( I ˈtold you so) used for telling sb who did not listen to your warnings or take your advice that they were wrong and you were right（表示自己已提醒过或提过建议，但对方不听）我说什么来着，我早就跟你说过◆‘I’ve got terrible stomach-ache.’ ‘What did I tell you? You should never have drunk the tap water.’ “我肚子疼得要死。”“我跟你说什么来着？你就不应该喝自来水。”◆‘She didn’t like the present.’ ‘I told you so. I knew she didn’t like perfume.’ “她不喜欢那个礼物。”“我跟你说过了，我知道她不喜欢香水。”●you ˌnever can ˈtell●you can ˌnever ˈtell (saying) you can never be sure; you can never know exactly what will happen谁知道；很难说；谁也说不准◆‘Is he happy?’ ‘I don’t know. You can never tell with him.’ “他开心吗？”“我不知道。谁也说不准他怎么想的。”◆‘Who’s going to win?’ ‘In weather conditions like these you never can tell.’ “谁会获胜呢？”“在这样的天气下很难说。”●not know/not be able to tell ˌone end of sth from the ˈother (informal) know absolutely nothing about sth, for example a machine对（机器等）一无所知◆Don’t ask me to fix the car. I don’t know one end of an engine from the other.别让我来修车，我对发动机一窍不通。●talk to/tell it to the ˈhand (because/’cos the face ain’t ˈlistening) (NAmE, informal) used to say in a rude way that you refuse to listen to what sb is trying to tell you（粗暴地表示不愿听别人讲）别说了，闭嘴NOTE This is said while holding your hand up in front of the other person’s face.说这个习语的时候手掌通常伸在别人面前。●ˌkiss and ˈtella way of referring to sb talking publicly, usually for money, about a past sexual relationship with sb famous（通常为了钱）泄露与名人的私情◆Despite all the money the tabloids were offering for her story, she was determined not to kiss and tell.尽管小报愿意出高价，她还是决意不透露自己与那个名人的私情。●live to tell the ˈtale (informal, oftenhumorous) survive a terrible experience幸存；从困境中挺过来◆Only one man out of fifteen lived to tell the tale.十五个人中只有一人幸存。◆It will be a difficult experience, but I expect you’ll live to tell the tale!虽然前途艰险，但我相信你定能战胜困难！●can/could teach/tell sb a ˈthing or two (about sb/sth) (informal) be able to help sb, or teach sb how to do sth, because you have more experience（因为有更多经验而）能帮点忙，能教某人一些东西◆He thinks he knows a lot about farming, but old Bert could teach him a thing or two.他以为自己对种田所知甚多，但是老伯特会给他上点课的。●time (alone) will ˈtell●only time will ˈtell (saying) used to say that you will have to wait for some time to find out the result of a situation（只有）时间会证明◆Only time will tell if the treatment has been successful.只有时间才能证明这种疗法是否有效。