I have been wondering this for quite some time.

I just got an email from a man who has been involved in an "intelligent" field most of his life. I admire this man.

He was describing a dinner that he attended and mentioned that there were "3 people told" that he actually knew!

Up until this point, I thought that "told" was used by a person who was unskilled in the English language... but NOW I feel that it may be a short form for "totalled" which has become accepted!

Which is it???

(Nevermind about "pleeeze" - ok?)

Maybe it's just a typo. 'All told' means 'altogether'.

There seems to be a regrettable tendency creeping in to shorten words and phrases in a way that makes them meaningless.

"Could care less" is not quite the same as "couldn't care less". That has been mentioned here a few times. Then there's ferior. It looks as though you have been the victim of another example, which as nnn suggests should read "all told".

Tell can mean count. All told therfore means all counted. Told would just mean counted.

While leaving out the all takes away the emphasis, and therefore slightly alters the meaning, I don't see it as wrong.

It's similar to:

He had a total of 3 friends.
vs.
He had 3 friends.



My guess is that it is a typo and he meant to include the word all.

Thanks, guys!

He did type "all told" by the way.

Now I understand that it's correct
English and not a painful shortcut!

I know what you mean about "I could
care less" Ewood - by shortening it
- it means the opposite of what
is intended.