| 词组 | tell |
| 释义 | tell [told, told, telling] tell against tell against sb BrE formal to make someone less likely to succeed in achieving or winning something: ▪ I badly wanted the job, but I knew that my age would probably tell against me. ▪ The lack of training told against us, and we finished 47th out of 63. ■ SIMILAR TO: ↑count against tell apart tell sb/sth apart not progressive if you can tell people or things apart, you can see the difference between them, so that you recognize each of them and do not confuse them: ▪ The twins looked so alike that only their parents could tell them apart. be difficult/hard/impossible to tell sth apart ▪ Except for the difference in eye colour, it's impossible to tell the males and females apart. ■ SIMILAR TO: distinguish tell from tell sth/sb from sth/sb if you can tell one person or thing from another, you can see or realize the difference between them, so that you do not confuse them: ▪ The two types of mushroom are very similar and it's difficult to tell one from the other. ▪ It is expected that by this age most children will be able to tell right from wrong. ■ SIMILAR TO: distinguish formal tell of tell of sb/sth literary to describe the details of an event or person: ▪ The story tells of a young village man who makes his way to the capital looking for work. ■ SIMILAR TO: be about tell off tell sb off • tell off sb if someone in authority such as a teacher or a parent tells you off, they speak to you angrily about something wrong that you have done: ▪ Miss McHale will tell you off if she sees you doing that! be/get told off ▪ Shelley was one of those kids who are always in trouble at school, always getting told off. ▪ Hurry up - I don't want to be told off for being late again! ■ SIMILAR TO: ↑tick off BrE, reprimand formal telling-off n C BrE when someone speaks to you angrily about something wrong that you have done: ▪ I've already had one telling-off from Dad today for drinking his beer. tell on 1. tell on sb informal to tell someone in authority such as a teacher or a parent about something wrong that someone you know has done - used especially by children: ▪ I'll tell on you if you don't give me my pen back. ▪ Please don't tell on me - my parents will kill me if they find out! ■ SIMILAR TO: ↑split on informal, ↑tattle on AmE informal 2. tell on sb to have a bad effect on your health, or make you feel very tired - used about someone who has been working very hard or using a lot of effort, or drinking a lot of alcohol: ▪ It was clear that the long hours and the pressure of the work were beginning to tell on Stephen. ▪ All those years of heavy drinking were starting to tell on her. |
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