- old wives' tale
- noun Date: circa 1590 an often traditional belief that is not based on fact ; superstition
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
old wives' tale
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old wives' tale — old wives tales N COUNT An old wives tale is a traditional belief which is incorrect. Ann Bradley dispels the old wives tales and gives the medical facts … English dictionary
old wives’ tale — [n] superstition fairy story, fallacy, false belief, folklore, folk tale, legend, lore, myth, notion, tall story, tall tale; concepts 282,689 … New thesaurus
old wives' tale — old wives ,tale noun count a traditional belief that many people think is wrong or silly because there is no scientific proof of it … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
old wives' tale — A proverb or piece of advice that is commonly accepted as truth and is handed down the generations, but is sometimes false … The small dictionary of idiomes
old wives' tale — old′ wives ′ tale n. a traditional, often superstitious, belief or story … From formal English to slang
old wives' tale — ► NOUN ▪ a widely held traditional belief that is now thought to be unscientific or incorrect … English terms dictionary
old wives' tale — n. a silly story or superstitious belief … English World dictionary
old wives' tale — noun a bit of lore passed on by word of mouth (Freq. 1) • Hypernyms: ↑lore, ↑traditional knowledge * * * a traditional belief, story, or idea that is often of a superstitious nature. [1670 80] * * * old wives tale 1. A superstitious or misleading … Useful english dictionary
Old wives' tale — For the English novel, see The Old Wives Tale. An old wives tale is a type of urban legend, similar to a proverb, which is generally passed down by old wives to a younger generation. Such tales usually consist of superstition, folklore or… … Wikipedia
old wives' tale — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms old wives tale : singular old wives tale plural old wives tales a traditional belief that many people think is wrong or silly because there is no scientific proof of it … English dictionary
old wives' tale — A traditional belief or idea which has been proved wrong by science is called an old wives tale. The belief that chocolate causes acne is an old wives tale … English Idioms & idiomatic expressions
