- an old wives' tale
- a piece of advice or an idea which a lot of people believed in the past but which we now know is wrong.
It's an old wives' tale that drinking alcohol before you go to bed helps you sleep.
New idioms dictionary. 2014.
an old wives' tale
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old wives' tale — old wives tales N COUNT An old wives tale is a traditional belief which is incorrect. Ann Bradley dispels the old wives tales and gives the medical facts … English dictionary
old wives’ tale — [n] superstition fairy story, fallacy, false belief, folklore, folk tale, legend, lore, myth, notion, tall story, tall tale; concepts 282,689 … New thesaurus
old wives' tale — old wives ,tale noun count a traditional belief that many people think is wrong or silly because there is no scientific proof of it … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
old wives' tale — A proverb or piece of advice that is commonly accepted as truth and is handed down the generations, but is sometimes false … The small dictionary of idiomes
old wives' tale — old′ wives ′ tale n. a traditional, often superstitious, belief or story … From formal English to slang
old wives' tale — ► NOUN ▪ a widely held traditional belief that is now thought to be unscientific or incorrect … English terms dictionary
old wives' tale — n. a silly story or superstitious belief … English World dictionary
old wives' tale — noun a bit of lore passed on by word of mouth (Freq. 1) • Hypernyms: ↑lore, ↑traditional knowledge * * * a traditional belief, story, or idea that is often of a superstitious nature. [1670 80] * * * old wives tale 1. A superstitious or misleading … Useful english dictionary
Old wives' tale — For the English novel, see The Old Wives Tale. An old wives tale is a type of urban legend, similar to a proverb, which is generally passed down by old wives to a younger generation. Such tales usually consist of superstition, folklore or… … Wikipedia
old wives' tale — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms old wives tale : singular old wives tale plural old wives tales a traditional belief that many people think is wrong or silly because there is no scientific proof of it … English dictionary
old wives' tale — A traditional belief or idea which has been proved wrong by science is called an old wives tale. The belief that chocolate causes acne is an old wives tale … English Idioms & idiomatic expressions
