Meaning
A traditional belief or piece of folk wisdom, usually superstitious or scientifically unfounded, passed on by word of mouth, such as the idea that swimming soon after eating causes cramps. The phrase dismisses such a belief as unreliable; it comments on the belief, not on whoever repeats it. Mildly dismissive and slightly dated-feeling in formal writing, where 'folk belief' is often preferred. Regional use: General English.
Origin
The idea of scorning foolish talk as old women's chatter is ancient: Dictionary.com notes the expression was known in ancient Greece, that an English version was recorded by 1387 (John Trevisa's translation of a Latin text), and that the modern phrase dates from 1670-80. The King James Bible of 1611 reinforced the wording with 'old wives' fables' (1 Timothy 4:7). In this idiom 'wife' simply means woman, from Old English 'wif', a sense that survives in 'midwife' and 'fishwife', and 'wives' is plural because the reference is to old women as a storytelling class, not to any individual's spouse. Modern commentators also note the phrase's dismissive edge toward orally transmitted, traditionally female knowledge.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- old wife's tale (nonstandard)
- old wives tale (without apostrophe)
- old wives' fables (biblical antecedent)
Usage Examples
- That carrots give you night vision is an old wives' tale, though the vegetable is still good for you.
- My grandmother swore by the old wives' tale that thunder turns milk sour.
- Once dismissed as an old wives' tale, the honey-and-cough link has since found some trial support.