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What is the equivalent expression to "old wives tales"?
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2016-09-24T03:02:05.563
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2016-09-24T03:38:42.937
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translation expressions
What is the equivalent to old wives tales in Japanese
The common translation seems to be:

>
> [くだらない迷信](http://ejje.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%8F%E3%81%A0%E3%82%89%E3%81%AA%E3%81%84%E8%BF%B7%E4%BF%A1)
>
>   1. absurd superstition (英和対訳)
>   2. old wives' tale (英和対訳)
>   3. 迷信 (和英辞典)
>
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2016-09-24T03:28:31.070
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2016-09-24T03:32:37.510
2016-09-24T03:32:37.510
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To make sure, you are referring to
[this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_wives%27_tale), right?

There is an expression which looks similar (おばあちゃんの知恵; lit. "wisdom of old
women"), but this has a _positive_ connotation in Japanese.

The kind of "theories" listed in the Wikipedia article is plainly referred to
as:

  * 古【ふる】い迷信【めいしん】 (lit. "old superstition")
  * 俗説【ぞくせつ】 (lit. "layman's theory", usually implies scientifically false ones)
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2016-09-24T03:38:42.937
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2016-09-24T03:38:42.937
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