Telling tales; babbling. "The
telltale heart."
1. One
who officiously communicates information of the personal concerns of others; one
who tells that which prudence must suppress.
2. A
movable piece of ivory, lead, or another material, connected with the
bellows of an organ, that gives announcement, by its position, when the
wind is exhausted.
3. A
mechanical attachment to the steering wheel, which, in the
absence of a tiller, shows the position of the helm. A compass in the cabin of a vessel, generally placed where the captain can
see it at all hours, and
thus communicate himself of the vessel's course.
4.
A car or contrivance for indicating or recording something, particularly for keeping a check upon employees, as factory hands, watchmen, drivers, check takers, and the like, by revealing to their employers what they have done or omitted.
5. The tattler. See Tattler.
Source: Websters Vocabulary