eggcornish "tattletale signs"

[Joel S. Berson]

But ... "tattle" = "tell (on)" -- from OED, "3. To talk without
reticence so as to reveal secrets or private affairs; to blab, 'tell tales'."

And the OED has for "tattle-tale", "1. = TELL-TALE n. (a.) ".  From
1889 through 1977, including the attributive "1962 'K. ORVIS' Damned
& Destroyed xiii. 89 Helen's tattle-tale scars." and the comb.
"tattle-tale gray".  (Reminds me -- I need to do a wash.)

Not an eggcornish pasty to me, just two words with the same meaning.

Joel

At 6/11/2009 04:09 AM, Arnold Zwicky wrote:
>from
>   http://pomegranate.stores.yahoo.net/aa280.html
>
>Instantly recognizable for their sensuous texture and warm, luminous
>palette, Wayne Thiebaud's images of cakes, pies, and other everyday
>objects brought him to international prominence in the 1960s. His food
>paintings explore society's fascination with, and ritualistic
>treatment of, certain culinary items; Thiebaud (American, b. 1920)
>paints what he has called the "tattletale signs" of our culture.
>.....
>
>"tattletale" for "telltale", probably playful for Thiebaud.
>
>there's a modest number of apparently straightforward instances, for
>instance:
>
>[from _Cosmetic Surgery_, by Rhonda S. Narins] ... are bombarded with
>media messages telling them they can use creams, injections, and
>surgery to erase these tattletale signs of their advancing age. ...
>
>http://books.google.com/books?id=S7R0n3HXqeMC&pg=PA314&lpg=PA314&dq=%22tattletale+signs%22&source=bl&ots=EOq_rOg1Lr&sig=HJXU8DyBNkU5TNpWzgNsX9sh_Lo&hl=en&ei=HrgwSsjXKJLstQOJocjzAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7
>
>[safer sex advice] Watch for tattletale signs that the body (yours or
>your play partner's), has reached its limit where you need to rest for
>a bit, call for a change in the ...
>   http://www.theabbey.org/sermons/sermons.html
>
>[stand-up comedy workshop] Here are the tattletale signs: Opening with
>"How you all doin' tonight?" or " Enjoying the show so far?" or "Wus
>up?" They don't care. ...
>   http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=104254587
>  &blogId=362180063
>
>When I arrived and took a look at the engine I didn't see any of the
>tattletale signs of over heating. Like black spark plug or burnt oil
>on the cylinders.
>  http://www.ez.org/buyer_beware.htm
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org