"truth to tell"

[Matthew Gordon]

I don't recall having heard "truth to tell" but if it did morph from "to
tell the truth" it probably got an analogical boost from "truth be told".


On 8/4/06 1:04 PM, "sagehen" <sagehen at WESTELCOM.COM> wrote:

> Anyone out there have a sense of when "to tell the truth" morphed into
> "truth to tell"?
> Even though I regard it as a silly bit of havering, I must admit that I do
> utter "to tell the truth" sort of automatically at times.  But "truth to
> tell" sets my teeth on edge for some reason.  I can't remember when I first
> began to notice it, but it seems to be getting more common.
> AM
>
>
> ~@:>   ~@:>   ~@:>   ~@:>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org