Old wives' tale: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Supposed truth that is actually spurious or a superstition}} |
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An '''old wives' tale''' is a wisdom much like an [[urban legend]], supposedly passed down by old wives to a younger generation. Today old wives' tales are also common among children's peer [[sex education]] in [[education|school]] playgrounds. Old wives' tales often concern [[pregnancy]], [[puberty]] and [[nutrition]]. |
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{{for|the play|The Old Wives' Tale (play)}} |
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An "'''old wives' tale'''" is a colloquial expression referring to spurious or superstitious claims. They can be said sometimes to be a type of [[urban legend]], said to be passed down by older women to a younger generation. Such tales are considered [[superstition]], [[folklore]] or unverified claims with exaggerated and/or inaccurate details. Old wives' tales often centre on women's traditional concerns, such as [[pregnancy]], [[puberty]], [[social relations]], [[health]], [[herbalism]] and [[nutrition]]. |
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Some old wives' tales are true, and those that aren't often have roots in truth or are used to trick people into doing something. |
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== Origins == |
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==Common old wives' tales== |
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In this context, the word ''wife'' means "woman" rather than "married woman". This usage stems from [[Old English language|Old English]] ''{{lang|ang|{{wt|ang|wif}}}}'' ("woman") and is akin to the [[German language|German]] ''{{linktext|Weib|lang=de}}'' (also meaning "woman"). This sense of the word is still used in [[Modern English]] in constructions such as ''[[midwife]]'' and ''[[fishwife]]''. |
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===Eating carrots improves your night vision=== |
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Old wives' tales are often invoked to discourage certain behaviours, usually of children, or to share knowledge of [[traditional medicine|folk cures]] for ailments ranging from [[toothaches]] to [[dysentery]]. |
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'''Half-truth''' |
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The concept of old wives' tales has existed for centuries. In 1611, the [[King James Version|King James Bible]] was published with the following translation of a verse: "But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself [rather] unto godliness" ([[First Epistle to Timothy|1 Timothy]] [[1 Timothy 4|4:7]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=1Ti&c=4&v=7&t=KJV#7|title=1 Timothy 4:7 (KJV)|access-date=14 March 2018}}</ref> |
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[[Carrot]]s do contain [[vitamin A]], which helps to maintain healthy vision, but they do not contain enough to make any significant difference. This tale started in the [[Second World War]] when the [[United Kingdom|British]] spread a [[rumour]] that their plane spotters were eating carrots to give them improved vision, concealing the truth about the invention of [[radar]]. |
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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 do not attempt to moralise, but to teach lessons and make difficult concepts like death or [[coming of age]] easy for children to understand. These stories are also used to scare children so they don't do undesirable things.<ref>''The Guardian'', 15 May 2010, Greer, Germaine. "Grandmother's footsteps" http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/may/15/germaine-greer-old-wives-tales</ref> |
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===Having sex standing up is a contraceptive=== |
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==See also== |
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'''False''' |
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* [[List of common misconceptions]] |
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* [[Aphorism]] |
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* [[Fakelore]] |
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* [[Lies-to-children]] |
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* [[Maxim (philosophy)]] |
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==References== |
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This is an example of an old wives' tale in peer sex education. It may seem somewhat logical to a [[virgin]] but is not true. [[Sperm]] are capable of swimming up the [[vagina]], through the [[uterus]] to the [[fallopian tube]]s, where they may fertilise an [[Ovum|egg]], regardless of how a woman is positioned during or after [[sexual intercourse]]. |
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{{Reflist}} |
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{{Folklore genres}} |
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===Chocolate causes acne=== |
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{{Authority control}} |
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[[Category:Urban legends]] |
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'''False''' |
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[[Category:Public opinion]] |
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[[Category:Superstitions]] |
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[[Chocolate]] does not cause [[acne]]; in fact, there is little evidence that one's [[diet (nutrition)|diet]] affects acne at all. This is an example of an old wives' tale used to discourage something (the large quantities of chocolate some children eat is unhealthy in other ways) by associating it with something that people are afraid of. |
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[[Category:Women's culture]] |
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===Masturbation causes blindness=== |
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'''False''' |
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Again, this is an attempt to discourage [[masturbation]] (usually among young males) by associating it with [[blindness]]. Masturbation in females is sometimes said to cause infertility; this is equally false. |
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===Staying out in the cold without a coat causes pneumonia=== |
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'''False''' |
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[[Pneumonia]] is caused by [[bacterium|bacteria]] such as ''[[Streptococcus pneumoniae]]''. Variations on this tale include that someone who stays out in the cold will catch a [[Common cold|cold]] (which is known to be caused by a [[virus]]). |
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This tale is one that took until fairly recently to debunk. As public awareness of the cause of disease increased, the tale evolved to include a number of different [[Pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]] explanations. One popular explanation is that a low core body temperature negatively impacts the effectiveness of the human [[immune system]]. This intuitively makes sense, as we know [[fever]], an elevated core body temperature, is one of the immune system's defenses against infection, studies have shown that there is no statistical correlation between lowered core body temperature and decreased immune response. Still, this old wives' tale, in its modern, pseudoscientific version, is still prevalent. |
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===Stepping on a ''rusty'' nail causes [[tetanus]]=== |
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'''It's neither the rust nor the nail''' |
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It is not the [[rust]] on the nail that is contributory, rather it is the nature of the wound. Any deep wound that heals over first at the surface can result in an infection protected from oxygen. Under such [[anaerobic]] conditions the tetanus bacterium can flourish in a person not appropriately vaccinated. The tetanus bacterium is commonly present both on skin and in soil. Before the availability of vaccine for tetanus the best treatment would be to keep the wound open so that it would heal from the bottom up. |
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==Other old wives' tales== |
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*Shaving/cutting hair makes it grow thicker than before. |
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*Having sex in a certain position increases or decreases the probability of conception. |
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*Eating the crust of bread makes your hair curl. |
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*A pimple on your tongue means that you have lied. |
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*If your chin does not shine yellow when you hold a [[Ranunculus|buttercup]] underneath it then you do not like butter. |
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*Don't cross your eyes; they might stay that way. |
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*If you go swimming less than an hour after you've eaten, you'll get [[cramp]]s. |
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*If you smell [[dandelion]]s, you'll wet your bed. |
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*If you touch a [[toad]], you'll get warts. |
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*If you feel a burning in your ears, it means that somebody is talking about you. |
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*If you don't eat the soup, a bogeyman will kidnap you. |
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*Having a longer penis makes female sex partners feel better during sex. |
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Latest revision as of 17:09, 6 October 2024
An "old wives' tale" is a colloquial expression referring to spurious or superstitious claims. They can be said sometimes to be a type of urban legend, said to be passed down by older women to a younger generation. Such tales are considered superstition, folklore or unverified claims with exaggerated and/or inaccurate details. Old wives' tales often centre on women's traditional concerns, such as pregnancy, puberty, social relations, health, herbalism and nutrition.
Origins
[edit]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.
Old wives' tales are often invoked to discourage certain behaviours, usually of children, or to share knowledge of folk cures for ailments ranging from toothaches to dysentery.
The concept of old wives' tales has existed for centuries. In 1611, the King James Bible was published with the following translation of a verse: "But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself [rather] unto godliness" (1 Timothy 4:7).[1]
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 do not attempt to moralise, but to teach lessons and make difficult concepts like death or coming of age easy for children to understand. These stories are also used to scare children so they don't do undesirable things.[2]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "1 Timothy 4:7 (KJV)". Retrieved 14 March 2018.
- ^ The Guardian, 15 May 2010, Greer, Germaine. "Grandmother's footsteps" http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/may/15/germaine-greer-old-wives-tales
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