fairy tale
61
1.0
- noun
- /ˈfɛri teɪl/
:
cuento de hadas
- I feel like I'm in a fairy tale.
- fairy tale for children
- fairy-tale hero
- fairy tales and fables
You know, it's not the white picket fence in fairy tales, marriage and relationships.
- You know, it's not the white picket fence in fairy tales, marriage and relationships.
- This is the stuff of our childhood fairy tales of what we had hoped was true.
- And he goes on and talks about the purposes of fairy tales in a very interesting way.
- It feels kind of like an old fairy tale.
- You feel like you've walked into a fairy tale.
- There have been myths, fairy tales, parables.
- Oh, I think that the classic myths and the fairy tales have had a huge impact.
- And sometimes, like he says, fairy tales can offer a type of that.
- And it isn't, it actually is much more kind of fairy tale or folklore feeling to me.
- They're like, like, now we're just in fairy tale land.
Examples
-
The first page immediately reminds one of the beautiful fairy tales of the past.
Academic text (2008) -
As a child, I eagerly listened to fairy tales about brave knights and magical creatures.
-
Chief, are you happy you got to be part of the end of this fairy tale for this woman?
-
Can I tell you a fairy tale that seems to come out of your story?
Academic text (2001) -
Why do they read kids' fairy tales in the first place?
Fiction book (1994) -
To see it was to feel like you had stepped into a fairy tale.
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"Goldilocks" is a fairy tale.
-
Like all good fairy tales, it came to an abrupt end.
Fiction book (2002) -
"I saw millions of trees all dusted with snow, just like out of a fairy tale."
-
This is the stuff of our childhood fairy tales of what we had hoped was true.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
An account of events told to entertain or inform
591
1.0
A story that tells about events, often imaginary, in books or by people
336
3.9
A story that describes connected events
93
4.3
Stories that have magic and impossible worlds
19
2.1
A children's story about magic and imaginary places
10
4.9
A false story told to trick or impress people
8
3.4
A traditional story told by people in a community that often teaches a lesson
6
2.7
An old story that people tell to each other in a community
1
1.4
A story for children about fairies and magic
1
6.2
A story passed down about gods, heroes, or magic
How Magical
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from 'fairy' (mythical, magical) + 'tale' (a story): together they denote a fantastical or fictional story, which naturally extends to 'implausible' or 'untrue' in figurative use. This compound follows a common, transparent noun+noun pattern (cf. Spanish cuento de hadas) so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily grasp the MWE's sense.
Etymology
Fairy tale comes from old stories about magical creatures called fairies and the strange, wonderful events that happen to people in those stories, often told to children at bedtime. So it now means a traditional, imaginative story with magic and wonder.