Word Spy - tell-some

(tel-SUM) adj. Revealing some but not all information that is considered private, secret, or sensitive. —n.

Example Citations:

Just when the nation's political conversation threatened to become oversaturated with the mysterious absence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, along comes the perfect summer stand-in.

"Living History," Hillary Clinton's political "tell-some" book.
—editorial, "$8 million worth of 'who knows?'," San Jose Mercury News, June 10, 2003

If bad publicity is better than none at all, then Richard Blow is an author more blessed than most.

Some reviews of "American Son," his new memoir of working with John F. Kennedy Jr., set new standards for brutality. ...

Blow, whose book is more of a tell-some than tell-all, defends it as "honest without being tawdry, and admiring without being sycophantic."
—Paul D. Colford, "Wicked coverage sells JFK Jr. book," Daily News (New York), May 10, 2002

Earliest Citation:

"Cover Story" is a monthly ranking of celebrities' popularity as reflected by their appearances on the covers of more than 30 of the nation's leading publications. ...

Placing second for the month was — surprise — Roseanne Barr, the hottest cover celebrity to date. Ms. Barr's 6 points in September lifted her year-to-date total to 64.5, a mere 3 points behind the record set by Princess Di in 1987.

The publication of Ms. Barr's new tell-some book, "Roseanne: My Life as a Woman," and her promotional appearances kept media attention focused her way.
—Scott Donaton, "Liz leads September star parade," Advertising Age, October 9, 1989

Notes:

This phrase is a play on tell-all, revealing all information, even that which is private, secret, or sensitive, which has been in the language since at least 1959. (There's also a noun sense that has been around since at least 1976; see example citation #2).

Category:

Books and Magazines

Posted on June 16, 2003