Dictionary

telly en · NOUN · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈtɛli/

Etymology

Shortened form of tele(vision) + -y.

Meanings

1. (Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, colloquial, countable, uncountable) Television.
   • Not much on telly tonight, as usual!
   • [...] they were all in agreement: this stuff had to be on the telly. 2021 June 30, Tim Dunn, “How We Made... Secrets of the London Underground”, in Rail, number 934, page 48:
   • You're from telly! 2007 August 24, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, Season 2, Episode 1
2. (Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, colloquial, countable, uncountable) A television set.
   • We've got a new flat-screen telly.
3. (Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, colloquial, countable, uncountable) Telegraph.
4. (Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, colloquial, countable, uncountable) Telephone.
5. (Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, colloquial, countable, uncountable) Teleport.
6. (Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, colloquial, countable, uncountable) Telecommunication.

Forms

Deriveds

telly tennis

Synonyms

TV · tube

Translations (42)

fi teevee (television (medium) — see also television) · hu tévé (television (medium) — see also television) · fr télé (television set — see also television) · fi töllö (television (medium) — see also television) · fi teevee (television set — see also television) · de Flimmerkiste (television set — see also television) · fr télé (television (medium) — see also television) · de Fernseher (television set — see also television) · yo tẹ́lì (television (medium) — see also television) · fi telkku (television (medium) — see also television) · pt tevê (television set — see also television) · lv teļļuks (television set — see also television) · bg ти́ви (television (medium) — see also television) · it tele (television (medium) — see also television) · ko 텔레비 (television (medium) — see also television) · si ටෙලි (television set — see also television) · de Glotze (television set — see also television) · ru те́лик (television (medium) — see also television) · cy teli (television (medium) — see also television) · nl tv (television set — see also television) · fi telkkari (television set — see also television) · fi telkkari (television (medium) — see also television) · cs telka (television (medium) — see also television) · eo televido (television (medium) — see also television) · eo televidilo (television set — see also television) · uk тєлік (television set — see also television) · fr téloche (television (medium) — see also television) · ru те́лик (television set — see also television) · pt tevê (television (medium) — see also television) · nl tv (television (medium) — see also television) · si ටෙලි (television (medium) — see also television) · ru я́щик (television set — see also television) · cs telka (television set — see also television) · lb Tëlee (television (medium) — see also television) · mk телеви́зија (television (medium) — see also television) · bg те́ве (television (medium) — see also television) · es tele (television set — see also television) · fr téloche (television set — see also television) · ja テレビ (television (medium) — see also television) · kw telli (television (medium) — see also television) · es tele (television (medium) — see also television) · th ทีวี (television (medium) — see also television)

telly en · NOUN · etymology 2

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈtɛli/

Etymology

Shortened form of (ho)tel and/or (mo)tel + -y.

Meanings

1. (Canada, Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, US, colloquial, qualifier:chiefly MTE, slang) A hotel or motel.
   • I'm staying at the telly this weekend.

Forms

telly en · ADJ · etymology 3

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈtɛli/

Etymology

From tell + -y, related to the writing advice show, don't tell.

Meanings

1. (Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, colloquial, informal, of a literary work) Inclined to telling (by explicitly stating facts), instead of showing (by conveying an impression so that events are described in the narrative).
   • The ending felt rushed to me, and I wish it would have been more showy and less telly. 2024 July 1, pinkjamie, “Well...”, in BookishFirst, archived from the original on 18 Jul 2024:
   • I think my problem with it is that it's a) a little "telly" not "showy" in comparison to the rest […] 1999 November 21, sophie, “Squealer : first revision”, in alt.arts.poetry.comments (Usenet):
   • Lee’s style of narration reads like an old-style fairy tale to an extent—it’s very telly, if that makes any sense. We get descriptions of character actions and we’re told about character motives as filtered through the third-person narrator, but we don’t actually get to read these characters’ thoughts. 2022 October 10, Brian Collins, “Short Story Review: “Bite-Me-Not or, Fleur de Fleu” by Tanith Lee”, in Science Fiction & Fantasy Remembrance, archived from the original on 18 Jul 2024:
   • Six of Crows is very telly and little showy. You are constantly getting info dumps and mini-flashbacks to the characters past. 2016 February 12, Kelly, “Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo”, in Diva Booknerd, archived from the original on 18 Jul 2024:
   • The only other objection I have—and again, it’s minor—is that the very last chapter feels very “telly” and rushed. I get why, but a smoother exit would have really made an otherwise wonderful book almost perfect. 2019 May 26, Chautona Havig, “This Book Gives New Meaning to “The Romance of the Rails””, in Chautona.com, archived from the original on 18 Jul 2024:
   • There's a way to make this more showy and less telly. It's like you're in a hurry to get on with the rest of the story. 2003 September 19, Patrick Null, “Failed Sept Challenge? (1409 words)”, in alt.fiction.original (Usenet):
   • story is too, too telly; need at least 3 showy scenes to improve showing:telling ratio 2009 May 18, @kimmcgowan, Twitter, archived from the original on 18 Jul 2024:

Forms