cautionary tale

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cautionary tale

noun cautionary tales

idiomatic A story, originally told in folklore, to warn its audience of a certain danger. This tone has slowly given way to a realization that the country’s experience might be less a curiosity than a cautionary tale.

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noun story

Español	cuento moralizante, aviso a navegantes
中文	警世故事 jǐngshì gùshi
Français	fable, conte moral, leçon, avertissement
Deutsch	Fabel, Schauermärchen, abschreckendes Beispiel, Vorsichtsgeschichte, belehrende Erzählung
Italiano	storiella ammonitrice
Русский	поучи́тельная исто́рия poučítelʹnaja istórija

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MLA

"cautionary tale." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/cautionary%20tale. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

cautionary tale. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/cautionary%20tale

Chicago

"cautionary tale." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/cautionary%20tale.

BibTeX

@misc{cautionary_tale_2026,
  title = {cautionary tale},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/cautionary%20tale},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}