1. tell the truth - Verb
2. tell the truth - Phrase
tell the truth (third-person singular simple present tells the truth, present participle telling the truth, simple past and past participle told the truth)
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see tell, truth.
tell the truth
(idiomatic, informal) Used to positively assert the frank honesty of an associated statement of set of statements; equivalent to "to tell the truth".
If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people. Virginia Woolf
Never lie, but always tell the truth. For falsehood and deceit is the most harmful of all vices, and the customary work of the devil. Theophan the Recluse
When you want to fool the world, tell the truth. Otto von Bismarck
If you tell the truth too early, you are laughed at, too late and you are stoned. Persian Proverb
Always tell the truth in the form of a joke. Armenian Proverb
Children and fools tell the truth. Spanish Proverb