beak vs telltale

beak

noun
  • A rigid structure projecting from the front of a bird's face, used for pecking, grooming, foraging, carrying items, eating food, etc. 

  • Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Libythea, notable for the beak-like elongation on their heads. 

  • A schoolmaster (originally, at Eton). 

  • The human nose, especially one that is large and pointed. 

  • That part of a ship, before the forecastle, which is fastened to the stem, and supported by the main knee. 

  • A similar structure forming the jaws of an octopus, turtle, etc. 

  • A justice of the peace; a magistrate. 

  • The upper or projecting part of the shell, near the hinge of a bivalve. 

  • The prolongation of certain univalve shells containing the canal. 

  • The long projecting sucking mouth of some insects and other invertebrates, as in the Hemiptera. 

  • A toe clip. 

  • A beam, shod or armed at the end with a metal head or point, and projecting from the prow of an ancient galley, used as a ram to pierce the vessel of an enemy; a beakhead. 

  • cocaine. 

  • Any process somewhat like the beak of a bird, terminating the fruit or other parts of a plant. 

  • Anything projecting or ending in a point like a beak, such as a promontory of land. 

  • A continuous slight projection ending in an arris or narrow fillet; that part of a drip from which the water is thrown off. 

verb
  • To play truant. 

  • Seize with the beak. 

  • Strike with the beak. 

telltale

noun
  • A bird, the tattler. 

  • A story or fable that has a moral or message. 

  • Something that serves to reveal something else. 

  • One who divulges private information with intent to hurt others. 

  • A mechanical attachment to the steering wheel, which, in the absence of a tiller, shows the position of the helm. 

  • Tattletale; squealer. 

  • A movable piece of ivory, lead, or other material, connected to the bellows of an organ, whose position indicates when the wind is exhausted. 

  • A length of yarn or ribbon attached to a sail or shroud etc to indicate the direction of the flow of the air relative to the boat. 

  • A machine or contrivance for indicating or recording something, particularly for keeping a check upon employees (factory hands, watchmen, drivers, etc.) by revealing to their employers what they have done or omitted. 

  • An indicator, such as a warning light, that serves to warn of a hazard or problem. 

  • A compass in the cabin of a vessel, usually placed where the captain can see it at all hours, and thus inform himself of the vessel's course. 

adj
  • Revealing something, especially something not intended to be known. 

How often have the words beak and telltale occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )