Crossword Genius

Traitors at the top sacrificed Britain in war to give away secrets (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tattle

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'give away secrets' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't see how they can define each other.

'traitors at the top sacrificed britain in war' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'at' is found in the answer.
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is located in the answer.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).

'to' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for tattle that I've seen before include "Tell tales" , "Divulge secrets" , "Gossip, idle chatter" , "'Gossip, idle talk (6)'" , "Chatter idly" .)

I've seen this clue in The Hindu.
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