[syn: fairytale, fairy tale, fairy story, cock-and-bull story, song and dance]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
fairy tale \fairy tale\ n.
1. a story about magical or mythological creatures, such as
fairies, elves, goblins, trolls, orcs, unicorns, wizards,
dragons, etc., usually composed for the amusement of
children; called also a fairy story.
[PJC]
2. a false story intended to deceive or mislead, especially
one involving unlikely events or situations; called also a
fairy story.
[PJC]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
fairy story
n 1: a story about fairies; told to amuse children [syn:
fairytale, fairy tale, fairy story]
2: an interesting but highly implausible story; often told as an
excuse [syn: fairytale, fairy tale, fairy story, cock-
and-bull story, song and dance]