Tales about roofing tile (5)
I believe the answer is:
slate
'roofing tile' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'tales about' is the wordplay.
'about' is an anagram indicator.
'tales' anagrammed gives 'SLATE'.
(Other definitions for slate that I've seen before include "list of candidates" , "Roofing tile" , "Roof tile or pub credit" , "Metamorphic rock that can be split into thin layers" , "Grey metamorphic rock" .)