Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- n. A saying that sets forth a general truth and that has gained credit through long use. See Synonyms at saying. See Usage Note at redundancy.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. An old saying, which has obtained credit by long use.
- n. An old saying, which has been overused or considered a cliché; a trite maxim.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- n. An old saying, which has obtained credit by long use; a proverb.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A pithy saying in current use; a brief familiar proverb; an expression of popular wisdom, generally figurative, in a single phrase or sentence, and of remote origin.
- n. Synonyms Aphorism, Axiom, Maxim, etc. See aphorism.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- n. a condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people
Etymologies
Examples
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We will begin today with a demonstration of some of the basic, yet difficult ballet exercises, what we call the adage portion of our class, to be performed by my primary class students.
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He said the aged adage is loyal - once we get married, the sex stops.
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Just goes to show the old adage is true, you can take the monkey out of the jungle but you can't take the jungle out of the monkey.
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"A popular Wall Street adage is that" gridlock is good "because it keeps the government from implementing new policies that further intervene in the private economy," the report said.
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But sometimes this old adage is still the most apt: "The best way to get published by Marvel and DC is to get published elsewhere first."
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A popular Wall Street adage is that gridlock is good because it keeps the government from implementing new policies that further intervene in the private economy.
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While the old adage is certainly true -- there are only two kinds of wine; those you like, and those you don't -- it's not true that there aren't discernible qualities in wine that should be evident to most consumers.
Cautiously Raising a Glass to Single-Vineyard Finger Lakes Wines
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In the current era of testing for performance-enhancing substances, that adage is coming into favor again.
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Can't remember the Greek/Latin adage, "Let the buyer beware!"
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Because, unfortunately, the old adage is true: writing = ass in chair.
100000232338334 commented on the word adage
There should be an adage, proud as a vampire. -Charlaine Harris, Living Dead in Dallas
December 11, 2010
nuxiy commented on the word adage
"Appreciating the adage, that "money is power," he married Herdisa, the daughter of a priest called Bersi the Rich--a very enviable surname, which, no doubt, enabled the reverend gentleman to brave the bulls and decrees of popes and councils, and take to himself a wife--who brought him a very considerable fortune."
- Norðurfari; or, Rambles in Iceland
May 20, 2009