urban legend

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urban legend

n.
An apocryphal story involving incidents of the recent past, often including elements of humor and horror, that spreads quickly and is popularly believed to be true.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ur′ban leg′end


n.
a modern story of obscure origin and with little or no supporting evidence that spreads spontaneously in varying forms and often has elements of humor, moralizing, or horror: Are there alligators living in the New York City sewer system, or is that just an urban legend? Also called ur′ban myth′.
[1970–75]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.urban legend - a story that appears mysteriously and spreads spontaneously in various forms and is usually false; contains elements of humor or horror and is popularly believed to be true
news report, write up, account, report, story - a short account of the news; "the report of his speech"; "the story was on the 11 o'clock news"; "the account of his speech that was given on the evening news made the governor furious"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
vandrehistorie
légende urbaine
Mentioned in
References in periodicals archive
Because, in this age of internet, we're constantly fed gruesome tales of horror and they don't fascinate us any more, it's the strugglingthrough-your-everyday-life urban legends that do the rounds now.
"It's part of an urban legend which says that underneath there is a river or an underground sewer and the ground will not bear the weight of a building, which is why we need the soil study," said Lopez.
Brooklyn Apache's first novel, inspired by true events, is "The Black Album: A Hollywood Horror Story," a thriller about the making of an independent film about an urban legend that is becoming an urban legend.
LEE NELSON: WARWICK ARTS CENTRE HE'S been called the hottest comedy creation since Ali G and Vicky Pollard and urban legend Lee Nelson will be making himself at home in Coventry tomorrow.
She plays a journalist investigating several teenage deaths linked to a cursed videotape and the urban legend that anyone who watches it will perish seven days later.
Some laughable dialogue, uneven performances and logic gaps big enough to drive a truck through complete this uninspired "urban legend" horrorthriller set in a milieu of college students and naughty online chatrooms.
Friday Elevator, Karbon, Glasgow Scottish Urban legend Naeem headlining one of Glasgow's biggest Friday nights.
ITALY yesterday went to extraordinary lengths to try to dismiss an urban legend predicting a devastating earthquake in Rome.
Bumblebees, as the urban legend goes, should not be able to fly.
Rather than relying on urban legend, consult first with an attorney specializing in liquor laws.
On the case: (From left) Anna Butcher, Emma Sanders, Jason Mainwood, Vicky Payne, Asif Mehrban, Zoe Payne and Cherai Douglas, of the Urban Legend Unsolved West Midland Mysteries project, have become a hit on the internet.
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