telltale vs veil

telltale

noun
  • Something that serves to reveal something else. 

  • A bird, the tattler. 

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

  • 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. 

veil

noun
  • Anything that partially obscures a clear view. 

  • A thin layer of tissue which is attached to or covers a mushroom. 

  • A cover; disguise; a mask; a pretense. 

  • A membrane connecting the margin of the pileus of a mushroom with the stalk; a velum. 

  • A covering for a person or thing; as, a caul (especially over the head) 

  • The calyptra of mosses. 

  • That which separates the living and the spirit world. 

  • An obscuration of the clearness of the tones in pronunciation. 

  • velum (A circular membrane round the cap of a medusa). 

  • Something hung up or spread out to hide or protect the face, or hide an object from view; usually of gauze, crepe, or similar diaphanous material. 

verb
  • To dress in, or decorate with, a veil. 

  • To conceal as with a veil. 

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