Tell it not in Gath
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Don't let your enemies hear it. Gath was famous as being the birth- place of the giant Goliath.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Tell it not in Gath” mean?
Don't let your enemies hear it. Gath was famous as being the birth- place of the giant Goliath.
Is “Tell it not in Gath” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.