Meanings
plural as-told-tos
- An account of something told by one person and written by another, especially a journalist or ghostwriter.
Independent developers began airing longstanding grievances, skeletons in the closet, and as-told-tos about Microsoft tactics over the years.
1993, Stephen Manes, Paul Andrews, Gates: How Microsoft's Mogul Reinvented an Industry and Made Himself the Richest Man in America, page 4203 more examples
In their attempts to foreground the agency of the Native speaker, the disclaimers of white authorial interference traditionally opening 'as-told-tos' barely conceal, in fact often signal, an active editorial presence.
2003, Commonwealth, volumes 26-27, page 102Many religious magazines, like Guideposts for Kids, use as-told-tos, and a selection of magazines from almost any market needs as-told-to pieces.
2005, Michelle Ruberg, Writer's Digest Handbook of Magazine Article Writing, page 163Thanks largely to Straus's navy-era media connections, names such as Stalin and Eisenhower had begun to grace the young list—albeit largely in photo-heavy as-told-tos and diary excerpts.
2013, Boris Kachka, Hothouse, page 58
Origin
From a phrase often used to introduce such pieces, along the lines of "Alice's story, as told to Bob".
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
as-told-to. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/as-told-to
“as-told-to.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/as-told-to. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “as-told-to,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/as-told-to.
Source: as-told-to on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.