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originally composed in meter in the Romance dialects, and afterward in prose, such as the tales of the court of Arthur, and of Amadis of Gaul; hence, any fictitious and wonderful tale; a sort of novel, especially one which treats of surprising adventures usually befalling a hero or a heroine; a tale of extravagant adve…

ng or resembling romance; hence, fanciful; marvelous; extravagant; unreal; as, a romantic tale; a romantic notion; a romantic undertaking. Can anything in nature be imagined more profane and impious, more absurd, and undeed romantic, than such a persuasion South. Zeal for the good of one's country a party of men have r…

mong the Norsemen and kindred people; a northern European popular historical or religious tale of olden time. And then the blue-eyed Norseman told A saga of the days of old. Longfellow.

A small North American owl (Nyctale Acadica), destitute of ear tufts and having feathered toes; -- called also Acadian owl.

To reproach; to libel; to defame; to slander. To tell his tale might be interpreted into scandalizing the order. Sir W. Scott.

's self. Self-made man, a man who has risen from poverty or obscurity by means of his own talentss or energies.

Sense; meaning; significance. [Obs.] Tales of best sentence and most solace. Chaucer. The discourse itself, voluble enough, and full of sentence. Milton.

A publication appearing in a series or succession of part; a tale, or other writing, published in successive numbers of a periodical.

Either of two annual herbaceous plants of the genus Sesamum (S. Indicum, and S. orientale), from the seeds of which an oil is expressed; also, the small obovate, flattish seeds of these plants, sometimes used as food. See Benne. Open Sesame, the magical command which opened the door of the robber's den in the Arabian N…

n he wax, and dry as is a shaft. Chaucer. A shaft hath three principal parts, the stele [stale], the feathers, and the head. Ascham.

ean; to import; to denote; to betoken. He bade her tell him what it signified. Chaucer. A tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. Shak.

A false tale or report maliciously uttered, tending to injure the reputation of another; the malicious utterance of defamatory reports; the dissemination of malicious tales or suggestions to the injury of another. Whether we speak evil of a man to his face or behind his back; the former way, indeed, seems to be the mos…

To creep away meanly; to steal away; to sneak. "To slink away and hide." Tale of Beryn. Back to the thicket slunk The guilty serpent. Milton. There were some few who slank obliquely from them as they passed. Landor.

e features of the face; to laugh silently. He doth nothing but frown . . . He hears merry tales and smiles not. Shak. She led to see the doughty hero slain. Pope. When last I saw thy young blue eyes, they smiled. Byron.

neral heads all other specialities are depedent. Hooker. Strive, while improving your one talent, to enrich your whole capital as a man. It is in this way that you escape from the wretched narrow- mindedness which is the characteristic of every one who cultivates his speciality. Ld. Lytton. We 'll say, instead, the inc…

A story; a tale. [Obs.] "Hearken to my spell." Chaucer.

er to pass away; as, to spend a day idly; to spend winter abroad. We spend our years as a tale that is told. Ps. xc. 9.

revolves, as in a lathe. To spin a yarn (Naut.), to tell a story, esp. a long or fabulous tale. -- To spin hay (Mil.), to twist it into ropes for convenient carriage on an expedition. -- To spin street yarn, to gad about gossiping. [Collog.]

Any one of several species of wading birds of the genera Ajaja and Platalea, and allied genera, in which the long bill is broadly expanded and flattened at the tip.

The line which forms the communication between the steering wheel and the telltale.