"old saw" meaning in English

See old saw in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Audio: En-au-old saw.ogg [Australia] Forms: old saws [plural]
Head templates: {{en-noun}} old saw (plural old saws)
  1. (idiomatic) A cliché, saying, or overused expression; especially a proverb or maxim. Tags: idiomatic Synonyms: old chestnut, saying Translations (old saying, conventional wisdom, often based in superstitions): gezegde (Dutch), vanha sanonta (Finnish), dicton [masculine] (French), adage [masculine] (French), expression éculée [feminine] (French), Bauernregel (english: weather lore) [feminine] (German), alter Spruch [masculine] (German), olle Kamelle [feminine] (German), alter Hut [masculine] (German), talesätt [neuter] (Swedish)
    Sense id: en-old_saw-en-noun-9xM0L0EC Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for old saw meaning in English (3.7kB)

{
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      "form": "old saws",
      "tags": [
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      "expansion": "old saw (plural old saws)",
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
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          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
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          "source": "w"
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      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "He's full of old saws, but he's not much for original advice.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010 March 20, James Campbell, “Barry Miles: 'I think of the 60s as a supermarket of ideas. We were looking for new ways to live'”, in The Guardian",
          "text": "Never believe the old saw, \"If you can remember the Sixties, you weren't really there\". Barry Miles remembers the 60s in vivid detail, down to the dress with \"zebra stripes\" that George Martin's wife wore at a dinner party given by Paul McCartney and Jane Asher in 1967, and he certainly was there.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2022 October 16, Jenna Scherer, “An enticing House Of The Dragon crowns Westeros' new ruler”, in AV Club",
          "text": "Cooke and Eve Best deliver a verbal showdown that’s twice as thrilling as the Kingsguard swordfight. Alicent brings out all the old saws: Supporting Rhaenyra has left Rhaenys with two dead children, bastards for grandsons, and a grievously wounded husband. “We do not rule, but we may guide the men who do,” the queen finishes.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A cliché, saying, or overused expression; especially a proverb or maxim."
      ],
      "id": "en-old_saw-en-noun-9xM0L0EC",
      "links": [
        [
          "cliché",
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        [
          "saying",
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        ],
        [
          "proverb",
          "proverb"
        ],
        [
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          "maxim"
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      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) A cliché, saying, or overused expression; especially a proverb or maxim."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "old chestnut"
        },
        {
          "word": "saying"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "old saying, conventional wisdom, often based in superstitions",
          "word": "gezegde"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "old saying, conventional wisdom, often based in superstitions",
          "word": "vanha sanonta"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "old saying, conventional wisdom, often based in superstitions",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "dicton"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "old saying, conventional wisdom, often based in superstitions",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "adage"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "old saying, conventional wisdom, often based in superstitions",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "expression éculée"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "english": "weather lore",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "old saying, conventional wisdom, often based in superstitions",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Bauernregel"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "old saying, conventional wisdom, often based in superstitions",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "alter Spruch"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "old saying, conventional wisdom, often based in superstitions",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "olle Kamelle"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "old saying, conventional wisdom, often based in superstitions",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "alter Hut"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "old saying, conventional wisdom, often based in superstitions",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "talesätt"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-old saw.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/da/En-au-old_saw.ogg/En-au-old_saw.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/En-au-old_saw.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "old saw"
}
{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "old saws",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "old saw (plural old saws)",
      "name": "en-noun"
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
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        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
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        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "He's full of old saws, but he's not much for original advice.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010 March 20, James Campbell, “Barry Miles: 'I think of the 60s as a supermarket of ideas. We were looking for new ways to live'”, in The Guardian",
          "text": "Never believe the old saw, \"If you can remember the Sixties, you weren't really there\". Barry Miles remembers the 60s in vivid detail, down to the dress with \"zebra stripes\" that George Martin's wife wore at a dinner party given by Paul McCartney and Jane Asher in 1967, and he certainly was there.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2022 October 16, Jenna Scherer, “An enticing House Of The Dragon crowns Westeros' new ruler”, in AV Club",
          "text": "Cooke and Eve Best deliver a verbal showdown that’s twice as thrilling as the Kingsguard swordfight. Alicent brings out all the old saws: Supporting Rhaenyra has left Rhaenys with two dead children, bastards for grandsons, and a grievously wounded husband. “We do not rule, but we may guide the men who do,” the queen finishes.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A cliché, saying, or overused expression; especially a proverb or maxim."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "cliché",
          "cliché"
        ],
        [
          "saying",
          "saying"
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        [
          "proverb",
          "proverb"
        ],
        [
          "maxim",
          "maxim"
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      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) A cliché, saying, or overused expression; especially a proverb or maxim."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "old chestnut"
        },
        {
          "word": "saying"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
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      "audio": "En-au-old saw.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/da/En-au-old_saw.ogg/En-au-old_saw.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/En-au-old_saw.ogg",
      "tags": [
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      "text": "Audio (AU)"
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  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "old saying, conventional wisdom, often based in superstitions",
      "word": "gezegde"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "old saying, conventional wisdom, often based in superstitions",
      "word": "vanha sanonta"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "old saying, conventional wisdom, often based in superstitions",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "dicton"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "old saying, conventional wisdom, often based in superstitions",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "adage"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "old saying, conventional wisdom, often based in superstitions",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "expression éculée"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "english": "weather lore",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "old saying, conventional wisdom, often based in superstitions",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Bauernregel"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "old saying, conventional wisdom, often based in superstitions",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "alter Spruch"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "old saying, conventional wisdom, often based in superstitions",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "olle Kamelle"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "old saying, conventional wisdom, often based in superstitions",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "alter Hut"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "old saying, conventional wisdom, often based in superstitions",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "talesätt"
    }
  ],
  "word": "old saw"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-10 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (a644e18 and edd475d). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.