Learn English – the origin of the phrase “Put one in the wood for him”

Here's a possible early example from The American Museum for February, 1788:

A 1752 printing of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar includes tall-tale:

Modern copies render this as:

You speak to Casca, and to such a man
That is no fleering tell-tale.

So the 1752 was probably a typo, but could the mistake have been influenced by the existence of tall-tale?

The same applies to this 1714 printing of The Life and Death of Richard III:

From The Phrase Finder they suggest that other usages of suck-egg may be at the origin of the saying:

go suck an egg:

In addition, we have the noun "suck-egg", with the following senses:

• "a. An animal that is reputed to suck eggs, e.g. a weasel, cuckoo; fig. an avaricious person.

• "b. A young fellow; slang. a silly person (Barr re & Leland).

• "c. attrib. That sucks eggs. Also U.S. dial. (chiefly South and Midland), used to designate a dog regarded as the type of viciousness or worthlessness."

All in all, these seem to add up to a sense of "sucking eggs" as a dishonest, contemptible, or foolish activity. I think it is this, rather than confusion with the "teach your grandmother" phrase, that gives rise to "go suck (an) egg(s)" as a dismissive insult."