"old wives tales"

[someonesgirl]

why are "old wives tales" called old wives tales? are they saying all wives go around making up rubbish?? What about the husbands?! Ha

[Myriad2112]

no they don't make it up ...
.......... they just love a good gossip!

[Quizmonster]

'The word 'wife' was originally just another word for 'woman'...it had nothing specifically to do with a married woman. Thus, for about half a millennium an 'old wife' referred just to any garrulous old woman...what we might call today an 'old biddy'. The tales they told were thought of as rather silly and meaningless and that is how the phrase 'old wives' tales' came to mean daft old ideas. Husbands simply didn't come into the equation!

[VS Prasad]

Superstitions would be generally refered to as
"old wives' tales." Many old wives' tales have basis in scientific fact.

http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/4/mes sages/1302.html

http://www.funtrivia.com/trivia-quiz/General/O ld-Wives-Tales-57428.html

An old wives' tale is a proverb, much like an urban legend, which is generally passed down by old wives to a younger generation. It is so named for the alleged lack of sophistication of old wives.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_wives%27_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.

http://www.answers.com/topic/old-wives-tale

Superstitions:
old wives tales, folklore, bizarre beliefs,
taboos, omens, lucky & unlucky things.

http://www.corsinet.com/trivia/scary.html

http://www.corsinet.com/trivia/scary3.html

http://www.whimsy.org.uk/superstitions.html

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/oldwivestales/ <