# Old wives tale



## panjabigator

I have no clue what it would be in Hindi or Panjabi.  The only think I can think of would translate to be "saying":  /muhaavre/ and /kahaavaT/.


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## Chazzwozzer

*Turkish:* kocakarı masalı _(literally "old wife tale")_
*German:* [das] Ammenmärchen _(literally "wet nurse stories", as a compound noun.)_


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## criszez

*Spanish:* cuentos de viejas (old women's tales)


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## IlPetaloCremisi

*Italian* : literaly _racconti di vecchie _but Im not sure what we're about...


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## Whodunit

IlPetaloCremisi said:


> *Italian* : literaly _racconti di vecchie _but Im not sure what we're about...


 
Hm, I'm not sure I can explain it, although Chazzwozzer's translation into German (Ammenmärchen) is correct. Does this help you?


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## Q-cumber

Russian: perhaps "суеверные истории" (superstitious stories).


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## Stéphane89

I think the most appropriate French expression is: *Des histoires de bonnes femmes* but I'm not sure whether it has the same meaning as "Old wives tale". It could as well be *Des remèdes de grand-mère.*

Could anyone explain the real meaning of "Old wives tale" so that we can find the best expression in our language? Thanks!


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## Q-cumber

*StefKE*

"Old wives*' *tales" means legends (tales) that "elderly wives" normally tell to younger generations. These legends might be based on various beliefs, superstitions, some scientific facts, abundant life experiences, etc.  These might be either true or false. For example, old wife might tell you how to forecast the gender of a future baby, basing on a pregnant women's appetite and so on.


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## Etcetera

Q-cumber said:


> Russian: perhaps "суеверные истории" (superstitious stories).


Or maybe б*а*бушкины ск*а*зки (literally, Granny's tales).


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## Q-cumber

Etcetera said:


> Or maybe б*а*бушкины ск*а*зки (literally, Granny's tales).



Yes, I was thinking about this variant. In my opinion, this expression more likely means "bullshit" in modern Russian, isn't it?


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## Etcetera

Q-cumber said:


> Yes, I was thinking about this variant. In my opinion, this expression more likely means "bullshit" in modern Russian, isn't it?


Really? I've never heard its being used in this sense.


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## Q-cumber

I mean the sentence, rather ironic or sarcastic, usually describes some information that is a priori false and insignificant. Moreover, by no means the word "сказки" (fairy tales) itself might be used in relation to any more or less rational informations.
    Anyway, after an additional investigation, I *confirm* dictionaries translate "Old wives' tales" as "бабушкины сказки" or "бабьи сплетни" (which sounds kinda rude to me). I myself am still believing the translation is not adequate.


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## Etcetera

Q-cumber said:


> Anyway, after an additional investigation, I *confirm* dictionaries translate "Old wives' tales" as "бабушкины сказки" or "бабьи сплетни" (which sounds kinda rude to me).


Yes, I don't like the second version, too.


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## suslik

In Estonian: vanade naiste jutt


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## Maja

Etcetera said:


> Or maybe б*а*бушкины ск*а*зки (literally, Granny's tales).


Same in Serbian: babske priče / бабске приче!


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## Arrius

Old wive*s'* tale with an S apostrophe, please, which Q-cumber wrote instinctively without thinking about it. Like the Chinese panda and the Spanish lynx, the English apostrophe is an endangered species we would do well to protect.


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## Whodunit

StefKE said:


> I think the most appropriate French expression is: *Des histoires de bonnes femmes* but I'm not sure whether it has the same meaning as "Old wives tale". It could as well be *Des remèdes de grand-mère.*
> 
> Could anyone explain the real meaning of "Old wives tale" so that we can find the best expression in our language? Thanks!


 
This German-French dictionary gives "Conte à dormir debout." This doesn't sound very close a story delivered by "old women," but it could give you an idea of what the expression means.


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## Stéphane89

> *StefKE*
> 
> "Old wives*' *tales" means legends (tales) that "elderly wives" normally tell to younger generations. These legends might be based on various beliefs, superstitions, some scientific facts, abundant life experiences, etc. These might be either true or false. For example, old wife might tell you how to forecast the gender of a future baby, basing on a pregnant women's appetite and so on.


 


> This German-French dictionary gives "Conte à dormir debout." This doesn't sound very close a story delivered by "old women," but it could give you an idea of what the expression means.


 
Ok. I therefore think that the most appropriate expression to translate _'Old wives'_ tales' is *"Contes/histoires à dormir debout"* just as Whodunit said. It is difficult to give a literal translation to this but I'll try: "Tale/story to make you sleep standing"


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## awanzi

IlPetaloCremisi said:


> *Italian* : literaly _racconti di vecchie _but Im not sure what we're about...



I think we're about the Italian *"Leggende metropolitane"*.


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## Q-cumber

awanzi said:


> I think we're about the Italian *"Leggende metropolitane"*.



Which should mean "Urban Legends". Close to the original, but not precisely.


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## .Lola.

In Czech: *babské povídačky*


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## Salmantina

Hi there!

I think the Dutch equivalent (more or less) would be: "verhalen uit grootmoeders tijd" (stories from granny´s younger days)

Greetings


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## Vejrudsigt

Danish: *ammestuesnak*


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## karuna

In Latvian: _viena tante teica – _some aunt told me.


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## teentitans

It should be a tale told by the older generations. In filipino language its "Karaang istorya"


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## yuggoth

In Spanish "_*cuentos de viejas*_" (old women' tales) and also "_*cuentos chinos*_"
(Chinese stories),which nowadays means rather "lie".

In Catalan "*Contes/ rondalles de la vora del foc*" (fireplace tales/legends), that nowadays designs rather too a hard to believe story.


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## rivei

In Chinese:无稽之谈(wu2 ji1 zhi1 tan2).
"old wives" may translated into "三姑六婆", the gossips who habitually spread intimate or private rumors or facts or superstitious belief stuff.


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## Arrius

StefKE said:


> I think the most appropriate French expression is: *Des histoires de bonnes femmes* but I'm not sure whether it has the same meaning as "Old wives tale"*. *


 
In my large Harrap's Dictionary *"des histoires de bonne femme" *i.e. in the singular is given. Perhaps both plural and singular are used, though you can't hear the difference anyway.


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## Nizo

In the New Testament of the Bible, 1 Timothy 4:7, written nearly 2000 years ago, the apostle Paul tells Timothy to have nothing to do with old wives’ fables. This is translated from the Greek adjective _γραωδεις_ (crone-like, silly, “old wives’”) and the noun _μυθους_ (myths, tales, fables, pieces of fiction). In *Esperanto*, this is translated by the term _avinaj fabeloj_, or grandmothers’ fables. Other translations I found:

German – Altweiberfabeln, altweibische Fabeln
Afrikaans – oudwyfse fabels
Dutch - oudwijfse fabelen
Danish - kælingagtige Fabler
Italian – favole da vecchie
Spanish – fábulas de viejas
Latin – aniles fabulas (in the Latin Vulgate, Seneca, Cicero and elsewhere)


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## apmoy70

*«Γραώδης μύθος/γραώδεις μύθοι» grăṓdēs mútʰŏs* (masc. nom. sing.)/*grăṓde̯is mútʰo̯i* (masc. nom. pl.) is indeed from Paul's first epistle to Timothy in the Christian scripture: 
*«Tοὺς δὲ βεβήλους καὶ γραώδεις μύθους παραιτοῦ»* - "But reject profane and old wives’ fables (1 Timothy 4:7, NKJV).

In MoGr we either use it as it is, *«γραώδης μύθος/γραώδεις μύθοι»* [ɣraˈoðis ˈmiθos] (masc. nom. sing.)/*ɣraˈoðis ˈmiθi* (which is very uncommon, I've heard it personally once in my life-time so far), or we use instead the fem. *«ματαιολογία»* [mate.oloˈʝi.a] --> _idle talk_, even the colloquialism *«ιστορίες για αγρίους»* [istoˈɾi.es ʝa aɣˈrius] --> _tales about savages_ (the latter derives from the imaginary tales the sailors narrated to their wives/relatives upon their return home after sailing for a long period of time).


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