this post was submitted on 21 Dec 2023
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No Stupid Questions

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Such as "money can't buy happiness" or "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger". Generally a false adage or something like that. All I could think of was "fallacious bumper sticker" which just sounds stupid.

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 6 months ago (3 children)

"Blood is thicker than water."

Usually said to convince someone that you should be there to help family regardless of what that family did to you. Unfortunately the full saying is "The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb", meaning the ties you form with friends can be stronger than the family you you born into.

[–] zipkag 13 points 6 months ago

This is probably not true. The concept of this phrase but referring to family is probably a modern confusion. There is no clear evidence it means it was really referencing ties to friends. Although I wish it did. Here's some further reading from others also looking for a clearer reference.

https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/147902/is-the-alleged-original-meaning-of-the-phrase-blood-is-thicker-than-water-real

[–] littlebluespark 3 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Most of those old sayings have had the rejoinder omitted, which completely shifted their original meaning, in fact. For example, "Great minds think alike" originally closed with "but rarely do they differ", etc.

[–] Bahalex 27 points 6 months ago (1 children)
[–] Twinklebreeze 3 points 6 months ago

Not all wives tales are false. Most are, but not all.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 6 months ago (1 children)

"Fallacy" works. These are also adages, clichés, platitudes and folk wisdom, but neither really means "falsehood" per se. However, many of them just rationalize whatever: the money one is factually incorrect and exemplifies "sour grapes", silver linings is not a bad idea but also not necessarily true, any number of things will not kill you but make you wish they had, etc.

[–] lemmefixdat4u 3 points 6 months ago

Whoever came up with the "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" adage never met a person with locked-in syndrome. That's where you're totally paralyzed but also totally conscious. There have been patients where the doctors thought they were in a persistent coma, but they were actually going crazy trapped in their own skulls.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 6 months ago (1 children)

A Canard (French for duck) refers to something often believed to be true but isn't.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 months ago (2 children)

The origin of this expression is because the French do not believe that Quebec is real.

[–] littlebluespark 5 points 6 months ago
[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago (2 children)

It's ducks all the way down.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

🇲🇶🦆💬"Ouai"

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago
[–] HeathenPope 16 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

These fall under the category of "Half-baked Idea". This includes any idea that obviously hasn't been thought all the way through. Half-baked ideas can range from the absurd (e.g. "The Earth is flat."), to the benignly optimistic (e.g. "Everything works out for the best.")

[–] scarabic 16 points 6 months ago

“Canard.”

noun 1. an unfounded rumor or story. "the old canard that LA is a cultural wasteland"

[–] Lafari 13 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (7 children)

For example someone says "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" and you might say "that's a questionable phrase." or "I doubt the validity of that platitude". But is there something specific to label it as, i.e. "That's a [insert word]"

[–] Garbanzo 19 points 6 months ago

If you're not trying to be polite, "That's bullshit" works perfectly.

[–] Deestan 17 points 6 months ago

"Myth" is a word I'd end that sentence with.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago

Misconception?

[–] littlebluespark 4 points 6 months ago

"Canard" is the term, as another commented. 🤙🏼

[–] Tinfoiledhat 4 points 6 months ago

Colbert's "truthiness" comes to mind

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[–] diegantobass 13 points 6 months ago (1 children)

A proverb.

Because your examples are actual proverbs, that might be considered true or not, depending on who says it when.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA 10 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I dunno. Something being a proverb doesn't make it inherently false, which is what we're trying to define I guess

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

I like Fallacious Bumper Sticker! I'm absolutely using that going forward. It's better than Pithy Folk Ignorance that I used to use.

[–] CADmonkey 10 points 6 months ago

I dunno, I kinda like Pithy Folk Ignorance.

[–] Knitwear 9 points 6 months ago

Platitude

ish

[–] littlebluespark 9 points 6 months ago (2 children)

"Decimate" =/= "devastate", but common misuse becomes common use, so here we are. 🤦‍♂️

[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 months ago (10 children)

Language is fun like that. Kinda like how ‘literally’ can, and often does, mean ‘figuratively’, which has the opposite meaning.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago

It annoys me that people keep saying "figuratively" is what they mean instead of "literally". "Figuratively" may be the opposite, and technically correct, but the use of the word "literally" in this way is to strengthen a statement. A more appropriate correction would be "actually" or "seriously", which holds the intended meaning. "Figuratively" is the last thing it should be replaced with.

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[–] betterdeadthanreddit 8 points 6 months ago

Bullshitism.

[–] The_Mike_Drop 7 points 6 months ago
[–] 9point6 7 points 6 months ago (1 children)
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[–] Mango 7 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

Adage

How has nobody said this yet? Some guy actually said idiom.

[–] qarbone 5 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Because an adage isn't necessarily untrue, like the OP is asking.

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[–] Siegfried 4 points 6 months ago

Baloney

In the actual deep south we say "fruta", "frula", "saraza"

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago

false premise?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago
[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

Others have said "canard" which is almost certainly the best term; and "old wives' tale" which is the same but for an anecdote or advice rather than pithy saying.

I think "aphorism" also fits the bill for a proverb if dubious legitimacy.

[–] Identity3000 2 points 6 months ago

Maybe a "specious claim" or "folk wisdom" or "empty rhetoric"?

The word I would normally gravitate to is a "truism", however that's not really used to describe something that is necessarily false... just something that sounds insightful, but doesn't have any meaningful depth (e.g. "every cloud has a silver lining").

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