the.com/tattletale
A kid who trades friendships for the brief, hollow power of being right.
means Someone, usually a kid, who reports others' misbehavior to an authority figure.
from A straightforward compound: 'tattle,' meaning to chatter or gossip (related to Middle Dutch/Low German words for babbling, 'tateren'), plus 'tale,' the thing told. The word first meant simply idle gossip-telling, and narrowed over time into the schoolyard sense — one who 'tells tales' on others.
- origin
- from tattle, to chatter or gossip idly
- sibling term
- snitch, narc, rat all cousins
- paradox
- hated by peers, beloved by every teacher
- adult version
- becomes whistleblower, suddenly gets a Netflix deal