old wives' tale

Also found in: Thesaurus, Legal, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

old wives' tale

A superstitious or spurious belief belonging to traditional folklore.

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.

old wives' tale

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

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

old′ wives'′ tale`

a traditional, often superstitious, belief or story.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun

old wives' tale - a bit of lore passed on by word of mouth

lore, traditional knowledge - knowledge gained through tradition or anecdote; "early peoples passed on plant and animal lore through legend"

Translations

old wives' tale

n → vecchia superstizione f

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

wife

(waif) – plural wives (waivz) – noun

the woman to whom one is married. Come and meet my wife; He is looking for a wife.

old wives' tale

a superstitious and misleading story.

ˈwife-battering noun

the crime of beating one's own wife.

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

"Is it just sentimentality, old wives' tales, or is she right?" he asked himself.

View in context

And indeed I was now inclining to the belief that he must be no Circle at all, but some extremely clever juggler; or else that the old wives' tales were true, and that after all there were such people as Enchanters and Magicians.

View in context

His first sensation was one of violent rage with her for having deceived him throughout the visit, fed him with pleasant old wives' tales, let him see her as a child playing in a meadow, shared her youth with him, while all the time she was a stranger entirely, and engaged to marry Rodney.

View in context

However, an old wives' tale about baby bumps may be serving as a clue when it comes to whether or not Meghan Markle will have a son or a daughter.

Why Meghan Markle Might Have A Boy

It's possibly an old wives' tale, but it is said that if you rub bat's blood on a new born child they will not grow hair, even into adulthood.

The Six: Traditional beauty tricks, from bat's blood to mayonnaise

| Verdict: Old wives' tale GARLIC AND ONIONS: Garlic might have some cold-fighting abilities.

Got a cold and feeling dreadful? Here's some advice that's not to be sneezed at; LAURA CLEMENTS looks at the myths and truths surrounding the common cold and separates the facts from fiction..

I really do hope that the old wives' tale of the worse the winter the better the summer is true because I think that it is high time we had a bit of sun to warm our bones.

Looking forward to warmth of summer; Get in touch - tell us what you think Email: letters@birminghammail.co.uk Twitter: @birminghammail Facebook: facebook.com/birminghammail Post: Birmingham Mail, 60 Church Street, Birmingham B3 2DJ

There's an old wives' tale that supposedly predicts the baby's gender based on how fast or slow their heart is beating.

I've heard that... If your baby's heart rate is slow it's a boy

The story seemed far-fetched, a bube meyseh (old wives' tale).

FBI Papers on the Jewish Plot To Kill Hitler

GARY C ARY CRUDEN SOME voters could leave it until later in the day to cast vote if an old wives' tale is to be believed.

Sun's set to shine as we head to poll

One of the enduring absurdities of the marketing and advertising industries is the old wives' tale that "people over 50 want to be like young people".

Life begins at 50 don't you know

And the old wives' tale is backed by scientific evidence as jet stream winds, which bring in weather systems, often stay in a similar position until the end of August.