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truth to tell. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
truth to tell, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
truth to tell in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Interjection
truth to tell
- (set phrase) Actually; frankly; as a matter of fact.
1838, Charles Dickens, chapter 51, in Oliver Twist:Truth to tell, the supper had been waiting a most unreasonable time.
1915, Harold MacGrath, chapter 13, in The Voice In The Fog:Haggerty had his trouble for nothing. There was no clue whatever in Lord Monckton's suite. . . . Truth to tell, Haggerty had not expected to find anything.
2008 April 17, David Van Biema, “The Pope on Academic Freedom”, in Time, retrieved 7 July 2015:In 1999 the American bishops mandated that if a college wanted to call itself Catholic, its theologians needed a bishop's good-housekeeping seal. And yet, truth to tell, the majority of Catholic schools hadn't really toed the line.
2012, Dougie Brimson, Art of Fart, →ISBN:I am a huge fan [of farting]. Well, truth to tell I am more than a simple fan for having studied the act of breaking wind for most of my life I consider myself to be far more than a simple aficionado […]
Usage notes
- Often used with the connotation that preceding statements have not been frank, forthcoming, or wholly correct.
Synonyms
Further reading