old wives' tale

American  

noun

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

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old wives' tale British  

noun

1. a belief, usually superstitious or erroneous, passed on by word of mouth as a piece of traditional wisdom

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old wives' tale Idioms  

1. 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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Etymology

Origin of old wives' tale

First recorded in 1670–80

Example Sentences

Before leaving the podium, Harabedian recalled an old wives’ tale that he said would be familiar to anyone raised at the edge of the San Gabriel Mountains.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 16, 2025

Its government said that there were "no border violations by Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters", and described the accusation as an "old wives' tale".

From BBC • Aug. 10, 2023

Just before I began writing this column, a reader who lives in Virginia asked me to debunk an old wives’ tale.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 20, 2023

On a happier note, there’s an old wives’ tale that if you put a piece of wedding cake under your pillow, you’ll dream about your future spouse.

From Washington Post • Sep. 6, 2021

“I thought the idea that the Xi don’t like iron was only an old wives’ tale.

From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo