"truth to tell"

[sagehen]

>FWIW, "truth to tell" and "truth be told" sound equally good to me.
>
>-Wilson
>
>On 8/4/06, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>-----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM>
>> Subject:      Re: "truth to tell"
>>
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>
>> How about "sooth to tell" ?  OED has it from 1855 (s.v. _tell_, v.), but
>>here's one that's considerably earlier :
>>
>>   1719 Thomas Brereton _Charnock Junior_ (London: William Chetwood) 28:
>>And sooth to tell, thy Aspect speaks no less.
>>
>>   "(The) truth to tell" is even older :
>>
>>   ca1701 _A Cabinet of Choice Jewels_  (London: B. Deacon, n.d.) 20: And
>>now the truth to tell, He must be from our presence sent. O _Christmas_
>>will now farewell [sic].
>>
>>   JL
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm beginning to think that this is just another inconvenient allergy of
mine that has been affecting my judgment about its occurrence.
AM

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