Old Wive's Tale

<p>An <b >old wives' tale</b> is a type of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_legend" title="Urban legend" >urban legend</a>, similar to a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proverb" title="Proverb" >proverb</a>, which is generally passed down by old wives to a younger generation. Such "tales" usually consist of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstition" title="Superstition" >superstition</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folklore" title="Folklore" >folklore</a> or unverified claims with exaggerated and/or untrue details. Today old wives' tales are still common among children in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education" title="Education" >school</a> playgrounds. Old wives' tales often concern <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pregnancy" title="Pregnancy" >pregnancy</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puberty" title="Puberty" >puberty</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutrition" title="Nutrition" >nutrition</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-kidshealth_0-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_wives%27_tale#cite_note-kidshealth-0" >[1]</a></sup>

<h2 >Origin</h2>

<p >In this context, the word <i>wife</i> means <i>woman</i> rather than <i>married woman</i>. This usage stems from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_English_language" title="Old English language" class="mw-redirect" >Old English</a> <i>wif</i> (woman) and is akin to the<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_language" title="German language" >German</a> <i>Weib</i>, also meaning "woman". This sense of the word is still used in Modern English in constructions such as <i>midwife</i> and <i>fishwife</i>.

Most old wives' tales are false and are used to discourage unwanted behavior, usually in children, or for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_medicine" title="Traditional medicine" >folk cures</a> for ailments ranging from a<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toothache" title="Toothache" >toothache</a> to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysentery" title="Dysentery" >dysentery</a>. Among the few tales with grains of truth, the veracity is likely coincidental.<sup id="cite_ref-kidshealth_0-1" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_wives%27_tale#cite_note-kidshealth-0" >[1]</a></sup>

The concept of old wives' tales is ancient. In the 1st century, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostle_Paul" title="Apostle Paul" class="mw-redirect" >Apostle Paul</a> wrote to his young protégé <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Timothy" title="Saint Timothy" >Timothy</a>, "But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself [rather] unto godliness" (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Timothy" title="I Timothy" class="mw-redirect" >I Timothy</a> 4:7 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KJV" title="KJV" class="mw-redirect" >KJV</a><sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_wives%27_tale#cite_note-1" >[2]</a></sup>).</p>

<h3 >[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Old_wives%27_tale&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: The oral tradition" >edit</a>]The oral tradition</h3>

<p >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. Also these stories are used to scare children so they don't do certain things.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_wives%27_tale#cite_note-2" >[3]</a></sup>

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 heroes, and turned them into morality tales for children.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_wives%27_tale#cite_note-3" >[4]</a></sup></p>

<h2 >Usage</h2>

<p >Examples of old wives' tales include:</p>

<ul >

<li >Ice cream leads to nightmares.</li>

<li >It's bad luck to give a pair of gloves to a friend unless you receive something in exchange.</li>

<li >Toes pointed up signify low blood sugar.</li>

<li >High heart rates lead to female fetuses.</li>

<li >If you step on a crack you'll break your mother's back/step on a line and break your mother's spine.</li>

<li >Breaking a mirror will earn a person seven years of bad luck.</li>

<li >Don't swallow gum or it will stay in your stomach for seven years.</li>

<li >Various other stories, all resulting in "seven years" of something.</li>

<li >It's bad luck to open an umbrella indoors.</li>

<li >Making silly faces when the wind direction changes will make the silly face permanent.</li>

<li >Chocolate leads to acne.</li>

<li >Shaving your legs makes the hair grow back thicker.</li>

</ul>

<ul >

<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saw_(saying)" title="Saw (saying)" >Saw (saying)</a></li>

<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxim_(philosophy)" title="Maxim (philosophy)" >Maxim (philosophy)</a></li>

<li ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphorism" title="Aphorism" >Aphorism</a></li>

</ul>

<h2 >References</h2>

<li id="cite_note-kidshealth-0" >^ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_wives%27_tale#cite_ref-kidshealth_0-0" ><sup ><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_wives%27_tale#cite_ref-kidshealth_0-1" ><sup ><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/general/aches/old_wives_tales.html" >KidsHealth: Old Wives' Tales</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-1" ><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_wives%27_tale#cite_ref-1" >^{</a></b> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=1Ti&c=4&v=7&t=KJV#7" >Blue Letter Bible – 1 Timothy 4:7</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-2" ><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_wives%27_tale#cite_ref-2" >^{</a></b>&nbsp};The Guardian, 15 May 2010, Greer, Germaine. "Grandmother's footsteps" <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/may/15/germaine-greer-old-wives-tales" >http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/may/15/germaine-greer-old-wives-tales</a></li>

<li id="cite_note-3" ><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_wives%27_tale#cite_ref-3" >^{</a></b> Zipes}, Jack. "The Trials and Tribulations of Little Red Riding Hood," Routledge, 1993 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0415908345" class="internal mw-magiclink-isbn" >ISBN 0-415-90834-5</a></li>

</ol>

</div>

<h2 >External links</h2>

<ul >

<li ><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/general/aches/old_wives_tales.html" >Various old wives' tales debunked</a></li>

<li ><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.hisboyscanswim.com/658/list-of-51-pregnancy-old-wives-tales-your-babys-sex-revealed" >List of 51 old wives tales for pregnancy</a></li>

</ul>

Old Wive's Tale

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