fairy tale
15
3.4
- noun
- /ˈfɛri teɪl/
- Informal
:
cuento
- He's holding on to a fairy tale.
- just a fairy tale
- believe in fairy tales
- silly fairy tale
Too many people want the fairy tale to be true.
- Too many people want the fairy tale to be true.
- But if people stop believing in the fairy tale, then you run out of buyers.
- It's life is not, there's no aspect of life that's an actual Hollywood fairy tale.
- And so many of us, starting with Disney, have bought into this sort of fairy tale idea that when you find your person, all your problems go away.
- That it is complete fairy tale myth bullshit.
- And the story of the Bible, it's a fairy tale.
- What we don't see in a fairy tale is what that go really looks like.
- It doesn't fit the fairy tale view of things are just amazing between US.
- that's not true. That's not like that fairy tale that I had is not true for me right now.
Examples
-
In short, America's actual unemployment rate is almost double the "official" fairy-tale number.
Blog text (5) -
But if people stop believing in the fairy tale, then you run out of buyers.
-
So yeah, that fairy tale's not happening, Mike.
-
You must stop telling me fairy tales.
-
Hey, maybe he fed us a fairy tale.
-
Yet we're told fairy tales about how they "work so hard" and "deserve all their money."
Blog text (31) -
Most people in my generation think of retirement as a fairy tale.
Blog text (2) -
Too many people want the fairy tale to be true.
-
Where'd you hear that fairy tale?
Fiction book (2001) -
You must stop telling me fairy tales if you want to be taken seriously.
Synonyms
∞
7.5
A lie told to avoid trouble
453
3.7
A wrong idea that many people believe
271
2.0
A made-up story or statement that is not true
133
5.1
A false story someone tells, often small and harmless
26
4.3
A story many people believe that is probably not true, often about scary or strange events
20
7.2
A long story that is probably not true
19
4.0
A story that says things are bigger or more amazing than they really are to be funny
10
4.6
A made-up story used to avoid blame or trick people
10
4.9
A false story told to trick or impress people
1
7.2
A complicated story used as an excuse to avoid blame
1
6.3
An absurd lie used to avoid blame or trick someone
1
5.5
A made up story told to hide the truth
1
7.3
A made-up tale that is hard to believe
A false story made to hide the truth
A made-up or exaggerated story that is unlikely to be true
A made-up story told in a big, exciting way to amuse people
Antonyms
How Believable
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 is also used to describe a story that is not true or too perfect to be real, because real fairy tales are clearly made-up stories of magic and happy endings. So when people call something a 'fairy tale', they mean it is 'not true' or just 'an excuse'.