Etymology

old saw

Today it means: A cliché, saying, or overused expression, especially a proverb or maxim. Full definition →

Middle English olde sawe, old sawe
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The story

  1. Middle English · inherited fromolde sawe, old sawe
  2. English todayold saw

From Middle English olde sawe, old sawe, equivalent to old + saw (“a saying or proverb”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.