tattler

English

Etymology

From tattle +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtætl̩ɚ/, /ˈtætlɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtætl̩ə/, /ˈtætlə/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: tat‧tler

Noun

tattler (plural tattlers)

1. One who tattles (notifies authorities of illicit behavior) or is inclined to do so; a tattletale.

   Synonyms: informant, narc, stool pigeon, tattletale; see also Thesaurus:informant

   My sister is a big tattler; she always tells Mommy when I hit her!

2. Either of two similar bird species in the shorebird genus Heteroscelus (Tringa in some taxonomies).
3. A device fitted to a vehicle to measure mileage etc.

   Synonym: tachograph

   • 1960, Edward Hogland, The circle home:

     A few truck drivers griped drowsily about the tattlers in their cabs which graphed the mileage per hour per day.

   • 2002, National Association of EMS Physicians, Prehospital Systems and Medical Oversight, page 270:

     Electronic monitors (black box, tattlers) help to define the actions of the driver during normal and emergent operation of the EMS unit.

Usage notes

• The tattletale sense is generally applied only to children.

Derived terms

• grey-tailed tattler
• tittle-tattler

 

Translations

one who tattles

• Esperanto: stukaĉo
• Finnish: juorukello (fi), kantelija (fi), kantelupukki
• German: Petze (de) f, Verpetzer m, Verpfeifer m, Anschwärzer m, Petzer (de) m
• Italian: chiacchierone (it) m
• Latin: gestor (la) m
• Plautdietsch: Pludadoos f
• Polish: kapuś (pl) m, papla (pl) f
• Russian: я́беда (ru) m or f (jábeda), доно́счик (ru) m (donósčik), стука́ч (ru) m (stukáč)
• Spanish: delator (es) m, acusica (es) f or m, acusete (es)
• Swedish: skvallerbytta (sv) c
• Turkish: gammaz (tr), ispiyoncu (tr)

bird of the genus Heteroscelus

• Finnish: harmaaviklo (fi); viklo (fi)
• Italian: totano (it) m

device that records mileage, speed etc.

• Finnish: ajopiirturi
• Italian: tachimetro (it) m
• Spanish: cuentakilómetros (es) m, velocímetro (es) m

Anagrams

• tartlet, Artlett