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 unverified claims with exaggerated and/or untrue details. Today old wives' tales are still common among children in school playgrounds. Old wives' tales often concern pregnancy, puberty and nutrition.^[1]

In this context, the word wife means woman rather than married woman. This usage stems from Old English wif (woman) and is akin to the German weib, also meaning "woman". This sense of the word is still used in Modern English in constructions such as midwife and fishwife.

Most old wives' tales are false and are used to discourage unwanted behavior, usually in children, or for folk cures for ailments ranging from a toothache to dysentery. Among the few tales with grains of truth, the veracity is likely coincidental.^[1]

The concept of old wives' tales is ancient. In the 1st century, the Apostle Paul wrote to his young protégé Timothy, "But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself [rather] unto godliness" (I Timothy 4:7 KJV^[2]).

Examples:

• Ice cream leads to nightmares.
• Toes pointed up signify low blood sugar.
• High heart rates lead to female fetuses.
• If you step on a crack you'll break your mother's back/step on a line and break your mother's spine.
• Breaking a mirror will earn a person seven years of bad luck.
• Don't swallow gum or it will stay in your stomach for seven years.
• Various other stories, all resulting in "seven years" of something.
• It's bad luck to open an umbrella indoors.
• Don't make silly faces or your face will stay that way forever.

The oral tradition

Old wives’ tales originate in the oral tradition of storytelling. They were generally propagated by illiterate women, telling stories to each other or to children. The stories did not attempt to moralise, but to teach lessons and make difficult concepts like death or coming of age easy for children to understand. ^[3]

These tales were often collected by literate men, and turned into written works. Fairy tales by Basile, Perrault, and the Grimms have their roots in the oral tradition of women. These male writers took the stories from women, with their plucky, clever heroines and heros, and turned them into morality tales for children. ^[4]

See also

• Saw (saying)
• Maxim (philosophy)
• Aphorism

References

1. ^ ^{a b} KidsHealth: Old Wives' Tales
2. ^ Blue Letter Bible – 1 Timothy 4:7
3. ^ The Guardian, 15 May 2010, Greer, Germaine. "Grandmother's footsteps" http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/may/15/germaine-greer-old-wives-tales
4. ^ Zipes, Jack. "The Trials and Tribulations of Little Red Riding Hood," Routledge, 1993 ISBN 0-415-90834-5

External links

• Various old wives' tales debunked
• List of 51 old wives tales for pregnancy

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This sociology-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Culture stubs Sociology stubs Urban legends Public opinion Folklore Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР Robert Stephenson Charles Bowen, Baron Bowen Look at other dictionaries: 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 — 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 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”