Tardy translating tale (4)
I believe the answer is:
late
'tardy' is the definition.
(I know that tardy can be written as late)
'translating tale' is the wordplay.
'translating' is an anagram indicator.
'tale' with letters rearranged gives 'LATE'.
(Other definitions for late that I've seen before include "Dead - tardy" , "Far into the night" , "After the expected time" , "No longer alive; tardy" , "Passed on (but still not passed by!)" .)