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| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| old wives' tale | |
| —n | |
| a belief, usually superstitious or erroneous, passed on by word of mouth as a piece of traditional wisdom | |
old wives' tale
A superstition, as in Toads cause warts? That's an old wives' tale. This expression was already known in ancient Greece, and a version in English was recorded in 1387. Despite invoking bigoted stereotypes of women and old people, it survives.