fairy tale

noun
1.
a story, usually for children, about elves, hobgoblins, dragons, fairies, or other magical creatures.
2.
an incredible or misleading statement, account, or belief: His story of being a millionaire is just a fairy tale.
Also called fairy story.

Origin:
1740–50

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
fairy tale or fairy story
 
—n
1.  a story about fairies or other mythical or magical beings, esp one of traditional origin told to children
2.  a highly improbable account
 
fairy story or fairy story
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
Fairy tale is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

fairy tale
"oral narrative centered on magical tests, quests, and transformations," 1749, translating Fr. Conte de feés of Madame d'Aulnois (1698, translated into English 1699). As an adjective (also fairytale), attested by 1963.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

fairy tale definition


and bedtime story
  1. n.
    a simplistic and condescending explanation for something; a lie. : I don't want to hear a fairy tale, just the facts, ma'am. , I've already heard your little bedtime story. You'll have to do better than that!
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Example sentences
The structure of the story was always that of a fairy tale.
Read a traditional fairy tale and have students list the characters, setting or
  plot details.
It was, additionally, a story implausible as any fairy tale.
My mustang story is a fairy tale with a happy ending.
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