cautionary tale
20
4.3
- noun
- /ˈkɔːʃənˌɛri teɪl/
:
historia aleccionadora
- Qaddafi's fate has become a cautionary tale for tyrants.
- provide a cautionary tale
- serves as a cautionary tale
Yeah, but but Arab Spring like is a perfect cautionary tale.
- Yeah, but but Arab Spring like is a perfect cautionary tale.
- All That Glitters Is Not Gold is in essence, A cautionary tale about cognitive dissonance.
- The idea that going no contact can become a rather lonely cautionary tale if you are not careful.
- And Children of Men is another example of just, you know, a sort of cautionary tale about the future.
- I only heard cautionary tales about how tragic and sad unmarried, divorced or widowed women were.
- It's a kind of, it's a, it's a cautionary tale in some ways.
- And sometimes it's a lesson, a cautionary tale.
Examples
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The anonymous raid on HBGary Federal should be a cautionary tale for law firms on the realities of cybersecurity.
Academic text (2011) -
The idea that going no contact can become a rather lonely cautionary tale if you are not careful.
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And Children of Men is another example of just, you know, a sort of cautionary tale about the future.
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People treated it as another cautionary tale.
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This is a cautionary tale.
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The Wall Street Journal's report can serve as a useful cautionary tale.
Academic text (2017) -
For the consumers of HRW's product, particularly in the Middle East, this should be a cautionary tale.
Academic text (2013) -
The significant impact of the Wall Street Journal's flawed reporting provides a cautionary tale.
Academic text (2017) -
All That Glitters Is Not Gold is in essence, A cautionary tale about cognitive dissonance.
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The story of Icarus serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of hubris and overambition.
Antonyms
How Cautionary
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a story told to warn' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'cautionary' (serving to warn) with 'tale' (a story). This straightforward adjective+noun composition follows common cross-linguistic patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The noun cautionary tale comes from old stories, a tale that is cautionary because it shows what can go wrong. Imagine a short story where someone makes a bad choice and then suffers, so listeners learn from the trouble and the story 'cautions' them.