old wives' tale

noun

Definition of old wives' tale

: an often traditional belief that is not based on fact : superstition

Examples of old wives' tale in a Sentence

Frogs won't give you warts. That's just an old wives' tale. the old wives' tale about the full moon causing people to act crazy

Recent Examples on the Web

The supposed toxicity of this Christmas classic is nothing more than an old wives' tale, Dr. Wismer says. — Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, "5 Holiday Plants That Are Way More Toxic Than Poinsettias to Cats and Dogs," 14 Dec. 2018 Many doctors perceive the use of cod-liver oil for joint pain as an old wives' tale. — Houston Chronicle, "Old wives’ remedy helped arthritis pain," 1 July 2018 When to Go to the Doctor Despite the old wives' tale, cranberry juice will not cure your UTI. — Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, "9 Common UTI Symptoms You Should Never Ignore," 12 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'old wives' tale.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.