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dead men tell no tales

idiom

Definition of dead men tell no tales

—used to say that someone who has been killed cannot reveal secret information

Word by Word Definitions

dead play

  1. : deprived of life : no longer alive

  2. : having the appearance of death : deathly

  3. : lacking power to move, feel, or respond : numb

  1. : someone who is no longer alive : one that is dead (see 1dead 1)

  2. : the state of being dead

  3. : the time of greatest quiet

  1. : absolutely, utterly

  2. : suddenly and completely

  3. : directly

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men

  1. : plural of man

  1. : menstruation

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tell play

  1. : to relate in detail : narrate

  2. : to give utterance to : say

  3. : to make known : divulge, reveal

  1. : an inadvertent behavior or mannerism that betrays a poker player's true thoughts, intentions, or emotions

  1. : hill, mound

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tale play tales

  1. : a usually imaginative narrative of an event : story

  2. : an intentionally untrue report : falsehood

  3. : a series of events or facts told or presented : account

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