Humanities › English Tail and Tale Commonly Confused Words Share Flipboard Email Print CHBD / Getty Images English English Grammar An Introduction to Punctuation Writing By Richard Nordquist Richard Nordquist English and Rhetoric Professor Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester B.A., English, State University of New York Dr. Richard Nordquist is professor emeritus of rhetoric and English at Georgia Southern University and the author of several university-level grammar and composition textbooks. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on February 12, 2019 The words tail and tale are homophones: they sound the same but have different meanings. Both a noun and a verb, tail has several meanings, including the rear part of an animal or vehicle. The noun tale refers to a report or story. Examples: "A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way."(Mark Twain)"I used small words and short sentences as if I were telling a fairy tale to a child."(Maya Angelou, The Heart of a Woman. Random House, 1981)"'Memphis' is a sad story of long-distance love, with an unexpected twist at the tail end of the tale."(Fred Rothwell, Long Distance Information: Chuck Berry's Recorded Legacy. Music Mentor Books, 2001) Practice: (a) "Kevin told a wonderful _____ about an angel who falls in love with a girl and then becomes human so that he can be with her."(Christopher Pike, The Midnight Club, 1991)(b) A dog wags its _____ with its heart. Answers (a) "Kevin told a wonderful tale about an angel who falls in love with a girl and then becomes human so that he can be with her."(Christopher Pike, The Midnight Club, 1991)(b) A dog wags its tail with its heart. See also: Glossary of Usage: Index of Commonly Confused Words "A Misspelled Tail," by Elizabeth T. Corbett Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Nordquist, Richard. "Tail and Tale." ThoughtCo, Feb. 16, 2021, thoughtco.com/tail-and-tale-1689503. Nordquist, Richard. (2021, February 16). Tail and Tale. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/tail-and-tale-1689503 Nordquist, Richard. "Tail and Tale." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/tail-and-tale-1689503 (accessed June 5, 2023). copy citation