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View synonyms for old wives' tale

old wives' tale

noun

  1. a traditional belief, story, or idea that is often of a superstitious nature.


old wives' tale

noun

  1. a belief, usually superstitious or erroneous, passed on by word of mouth as a piece of traditional wisdom
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of old wives' tale1

First recorded in 1670–80
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Idioms and Phrases

A superstition, as in Toads cause warts? That's an old wives' tale . This expression was already known in ancient Greece, and a version in English was recorded in 1387. Despite invoking bigoted stereotypes of women and old people, it survives.
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Example Sentences

The shock of what took place down there has him recalling every old wives tale about witches that he has ever heard.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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Old Wives' summerold woman