old wives' tale

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old wives' tale

A superstitious or spurious belief belonging to traditional folklore.

old wives' tale

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

old′ wives'′ tale`

a traditional, often superstitious, belief or story.

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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

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.

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References in classic literature ?

Is it just sentimentality, old wives' tales, or is she right?

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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.

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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.

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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

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.

Deluge to continue ..for next 40 days

This week's winner is Pauline O'Dowd, of Nottingham, who says: "I thought it was an old wives' tale that yucca plants like tea.

TAKE A TIP

It's an old wives' tale that cows lie down when it's about to rain.

YOU ASK & WE ANSWER; Your say

I think it's an old wives' tale - it's just what your mother told you but nobody really knows.

Your Views; YESTERDAY was Friday the 13th - but do you think the date's as unlucky as folklore has it?

The researchers also tackled the old wives' tale that drinking tea leads to dehydration, due to the diuretic caffeine content of the beverage.

Do antioxidants make tea healthier than water?

She thought it was an old wives' tale when people told her that if a contractor says a job is going to take six weeks, it really means 12 weeks.

STUDIO CITY FAMILY'S QUEST FOR CONDO SALE GETS TV MAKEOVER HELP

According to the Food Standards Agency, "eating for two" is little more than an old wives' tale and mums-to-be require just 300 calories a day more - the equivalent to an extra sandwich.