urban legend

noun
1.
a modern story of obscure origin and with little or no supporting evidence that spreads spontaneously in varying forms and often has elements of humor, moralizing, or horror:
Are there alligators living in the New York City sewer system, or is that just an urban legend?
Also called urban myth.
Origin
1970-75
Examples from the web for urban legend
  • According to urban legend, air pollution enhances the beauty of a sunset.
  • The idea that the beer tastes of aluminum is an urban legend.
  • Which proves that, yes, sorcerers have strong powers but do not know the difference between fact and urban legend.
  • There's a bit of an urban legend that certain times of the day are better than others for booking airfare.
  • Any reports to the contrary are the stuff of conspiracy theory or urban legend.
  • It is an urban legend that these spiders are extremely poisonous.
  • The horrendous danger of ingested plutonium is an urban legend-believed to be true by many people, yet false.
Contemporary definitions for urban legend
noun

See urban myth

urban legend in Technology

publication
A story, which may have started with a grain of truth, that has been embroidered and retold until it has passed into the realm of myth. It is an interesting phenomenon that these stories get spread so far, so fast and so often. Urban legends never die, they just end up on the Internet! Some legends that periodically make their rounds include "The Infamous Modem Tax", "Craig Shergold/Brain Tumor/Get Well Cards", and "The $250 Cookie Recipe".
(1996-05-08)