old wives' fable

См. также в других словарях:

• Fable — Fa ble (f[=a] b l), n. [F., fr. L. fabula, fr. fari to speak, say. See {Ban}, and cf. {Fabulous}, {Fame}.] 1. A Feigned story or tale, intended to instruct or amuse; a fictitious narration intended to enforce some useful truth or precept; an… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

• Fable — TOCrightA fable is a succinct story, in prose or verse, that features animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized (given human qualities), and that illustrates a moral lesson (a moral ), which may at the… …   Wikipedia

• fable — fabler, n. /fay beuhl/, n., v., fabled, fabling. n. 1. a short tale to teach a moral lesson, often with animals or inanimate objects as characters; apologue: the fable of the tortoise and the hare; Aesop s fables. 2. a story not founded on fact:… …   Universalium

• fable — /ˈfeɪbəl / (say faybuhl) noun 1. a short tale to teach a moral, often with animals or inanimate objects as characters; apologue: the fable of the tortoise and the hare. 2. a story not founded on fact. 3. a story about supernatural or… …  

• fable — 1. noun a) A fictitious narration intended to enforce some useful truth or precept, usually with animals, birds etc as characters; an apologue. Prototypically, . Old wives fables. b …   Wiktionary

• fable — The description in AV for fictitious ‘old wives’ tales (1 Tim. 4:7); called ‘cunningly devised’ (2 Pet. 1:16). NRSV, REB, and NJB prefer the translation ‘myths’ but this adds to the difficulty of rescuing the use of ‘myth’ by modern theologians… …   Dictionary of the Bible

• fable — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) n. parable, allegory, moral tale; apologue; myth, legend, fiction. See description, falsehood, figurative. II (Roget s IV) n. Syn. allegory, tale, parable; see story . III (Roget s 3 Superthesaurus) n.… …   English dictionary for students

• No Country for Old Men — For the film, see No Country for Old Men (film). No Country for Old Men   …   Wikipedia

• English literature — Introduction       the body of written works produced in the English language by inhabitants of the British Isles (including Ireland) from the 7th century to the present day. The major literatures written in English outside the British Isles are… …   Universalium

• \@Vampire Mythology: Bibliography —   [↑] @Vampire Mythology   Abbott, George Frederick. Macedonian Folklore. Cambridge, MA: University Press, 1903. Abrahams, Roger D. The ManofWords in the West Indies: Performance and the Emergence of Creole Culture. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins… …   Encyclopedia of vampire mythology

• encyclopaedia — Reference work that contains information on all branches of knowledge or that treats a particular branch of knowledge comprehensively. It is self contained and explains subjects in greater detail than a dictionary. It differs from an almanac in… …   Universalium