fairy

Note: This page may contain terms or definitions that are offensive or inappropriate for some readers.

away with the fairies

Seeming eccentric, distracted, or a bit crazy. I can't follow what your mom is talking about—it's like she's away with the fairies all of a sudden.See also: away, fairy

fairy godmother

1. In children's fairy tales, a woman with magical powers who appears in order to help others in their time of need. Cinderella's fairy godmother helped her get ready for the ball so she could meet Prince Charming.2. Someone who helps others with their problems, usually providing financial assistance. Thank you so much for helping me with my car repair bill! You are my fairy godmother.See also: fairy, godmother

be away with the fairies

To be a bit crazy. I can't follow what your mom is talking about—it's like she's away with the fairies all of a sudden.See also: away, fairy

airy-fairy

Insubstantial or impractical; wishful, fanciful, and unrealistic. My mom always had these airy-fairy ideas of us all traveling around the world, but we never had enough money for it. I don't think you've thought through the logistics of implementing such an airy-fairy scheme.

tooth fairy

1. A mythical fairy that exchanges money for children's baby teeth that have fallen out and been placed beneath their pillow at night. My sister believed in the tooth fairy until she was nearly 15. Look, Mom! The tooth fairy left me a whole dollar for my molar last night!2. Any mythical benefactor or source of money. The tooth fairy isn't going to come along and fund this project for us.See also: fairy, tooth

fairy tale

1. noun A lie or fabricated account of something (likened to a clearly fictional fantasy story). I know he's telling me fairy tales to avoid admitting his mistakes.2. adjective Resembling a fantasy story, especially due to being entirely positive or happy or having a happy ending. In this usage, the phrase is usually hyphenated. I really want a fairy-tale wedding, complete with a beautiful gown and a fancy cake. It wasn't some fairy-tale marrage, you know. We had our problems.See also: fairy, tale

fairy godmother

A generous benefactor, as in An anonymous fairy godmother donated the money for the new organ. This expression alludes to a stock character in fairy tales such as Cinderella, who gives unexpected and much needed assistance. [Late 1800s] See also: fairy, godmother

tooth fairy

A mythical source of bounty, as in So who will finance this venture-the tooth fairy? This expression refers to the fairy credited with leaving money under a child's pillow in place of a baby tooth that has fallen out, a practice popular with American parents since the first half of the 1900s. See also: fairy, tooth

away with the fairies

If you describe someone as being away with the fairies, you mean that they are crazy, have foolish or unreasonable opinions or do not notice things around them. She's very sweet and everything, but mentally, she's away with the fairies.See also: away, fairy

a fairy godmother

A fairy godmother is a person, especially a woman, who helps someone a lot. When I began in the business, the woman I regarded as my fairy godmother was Sybil Thorndike. Our country needs a fairy godmother to pay its debts.See also: fairy, godmother

(away) with the fairies

giving the impression of being mad, distracted, or in a dreamworld.See also: fairy

a/your ˌfairy ˈgodmother

a person who helps you unexpectedly when you most need help: You’ll need a fairy godmother to get you out of your present difficulties.The fairy godmother is the magical character in the story of Cinderella who helps Cinderella go to the ball.See also: fairy, godmother

airy-fairy

mod. insubstantial; of wishful thinking. I don’t care to hear any more of your airy-fairy ideas.

fairy

n. a male homosexual. (Rude and derogatory.) Bob got fired for calling Bill a fairy.

fairy tale

and bedtime story n. a simplistic and condescending explanation for something; a lie. I don’t want to hear a fairy tale, just the facts, ma’am. I’ve already heard your little bedtime story. You’ll have to do better than that! See also: fairy, tale

fairy

Note: This page may contain terms or definitions that are offensive or inappropriate for some readers.

fairy,

in folklore, one of a variety of supernatural beings endowed with the powers of magic and enchantment. Belief in fairies has existed from earliest times, and literatures all over the world have tales of fairies and their relations with humans. Some Christians have said that fairies were the ancestors of the ancient pagan gods, who, having been replaced by newer deities, were therefore hostile. Others thought that fairies were nature deities, similar to the Greek nymphsnymph
, in Greek mythology, female divinity associated with various natural objects. It is uncertain whether they were immortal or merely long-lived. There was an infinite variety of nymphs. Some represented various localities, e.g.
..... Click the link for more information. . Still others identified fairies with the souls of the dead, particularly the unbaptized, or with fallen angelsangel
, [Gr.,=messenger], bodiless, immortal spirit, limited in knowledge and power, accepted in the traditional belief of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and other religions. Angels appear frequently in the Bible, often in critical roles, e.g., visiting Abraham and Lot (Gen.
..... Click the link for more information. . Among their many guises, fairies have been described as tiny, wizen-faced old men, like the Irish leprechaunleprechaun
, Irish fairy represented as a tiny old man. Leprechauns are mischievous and elusive creatures, said to possess buried crocks of gold, the location of which they will reveal if forced.
..... Click the link for more information. ; as beautiful enchantresses who wooed men to their deaths, like Morgan le Fay and the LoreleiLorelei
, cliff, 433 ft (132 m) high, on the right bank of the Rhine River, near St. Goarshausen, W Germany, about midway between Koblenz and Bingen. There the Rhine forms a dangerous narrows, and in German legend a fairy similar to the Greek Sirens lived on the rock and by her
..... Click the link for more information. ; and as hideous, man-eating giants, like the ogre.

Fairies were frequently supposed to reside in a kingdom of their own—which might be underground, e.g., gnomesgnome
, in folklore, tiny subterranean creature associated with mines and quarries. Usually represented as misshapen, frequently as hunchbacked, gnomes are said to be guardians of hidden treasures.
..... Click the link for more information. ; in the sea, e.g., mermaidsmermaid,
in folklore, sea-dwelling creature commonly represented as having the head and body of a woman and a fishtail instead of legs. Belief in mermaids, and in their counterpart, mermen, has existed since earliest times.
..... Click the link for more information. ; in an enchanted part of the forest; or in some far land. Sometimes they were ruled by a king or queen, as were the trolls in Ibsen's Peer Gynt and the fairies in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Although fairies were usually represented as mischievous, capricious, and even demonic, they could also be loving and bountiful, as the fairy godmother in CinderellaCinderella,
heroine of one of the most famous folktales in the world. She is rescued from a life of drudgery by her fairy godmother and eventually marries a handsome prince.
..... Click the link for more information. . Sometimes fairies entered into love affairs with mortals, but usually such liaisons involved some restriction or compact and frequently ended in calamity, as did those of Melusine and Undine. Various peoples have emphasized particular kinds of fairies in their folklore, such as the Arabic jinnijinni
, feminine jinniyah
, plural jinn
, in Arabic and Islamic folklore, spirit or demon endowed with supernatural power. In ancient belief the jinn were associated with the destructive forces of nature.
..... Click the link for more information. , Scandinavian trolltroll
, in Scandinavian folklore, dwarfish or gigantic creature of caves and hills. Variously friendly or malicious, trolls toiled as smiths. The mountain king in Ibsen's Peer Gynt is a troll.
..... Click the link for more information. , Germanic elfelf,
in Germanic mythology, a type of fairy. Usually represented as tiny people, elves are said to dwell in forests, in the sea, and in the air. Although they can be friendly to man, they are more frequently vengeful and mischievous.
..... Click the link for more information. , and English pixiepixie,
in English folklore, spirit or fairy. The pixie is commonly represented as a mischievous imp who delights in flustering young maidens and leading travelers astray.
..... Click the link for more information. . Among the great adapters of fairy lore into popular fairy tales were Charles PerraultPerrault, Charles
, 1628–1703, French poet. His collections of eight fairy tales, Histoires ou contes du temps passé [stories or tales of olden times] (1697) gave classic form to the traditional stories of Bluebeard, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Puss in
..... Click the link for more information. , the brothers GrimmGrimm, Jakob
, 1785–1863, German philologist and folklorist, a founder of comparative philology. His interest in the relationship among Germanic languages led to his formulation of Grimm's law. His German grammar (1819–37) and his German Mythology (1835, tr.
..... Click the link for more information. , and Hans Christian AndersenAndersen, Hans Christian,
1805–75, Danish poet, novelist, and writer of fairy tales. Born to an illiterate washerwoman and reared in poverty, he left Odense at 14 for Copenhagen, where he lived with a wealthy family.
..... Click the link for more information. . Other notable contributors were Andrew LangLang, Andrew,
1844–1912, English scholar and man of letters, b. Scotland. His poetry, much of it written in the forms of ballades, triolets, and rondeaux, appeared in such volumes as his Ballads in Blue China (2 vol., 1880–81).
..... Click the link for more information. and James StephensStephens, James,
1882–1950, Irish poet and fiction writer, b. Dublin. One of the leading figures of the Irish literary renaissance, Stephens is best known for his fanciful and highly colored prose writings—The Crock of Gold (1912), The Demi-Gods
..... Click the link for more information. .

Bibliography

See K. M. Briggs, The Fairies in English Tradition and Literature (1967); J. D. Zipes, Breaking the Magic Spell: Radical Theories of Folk and Fairy Tales (1979), Fairy Tale as Myth/Myth as Fairy Tale (1994), and When Dreams Came True: Classical Fairy Tales and Their Tradition (1999); M. M. Tatar, Off with Their Heads!: Fairy Tales and the Culture of Childhood (1992); M. Warner, From the Beast to the Blonde: On Fairy Tales and Their Tellers (1995).

What does it mean when you dream about a fairy?

Fairies are associated with childhood fantasies of nymphs and gnomes and magical helpers who come to fix human problems. In dreams fairies can also show unrealistic fantasies or a sense of magic with respect to life.

Fairy

Abonde, Damegood fairy who brings children presents on New Year’s Eve. [Fr. Folklore: Brewer Dictionary, 3]Arielsprite who confuses the castaways on Prospero’s island. [Br. Drama: Shakespeare The Tempest]fairy godmotherfulfills Cinderella’s wishes and helps her win the prince. [Fr. Fairy Tale: Cinderella]Grandmarinafairy who provides everything for Princess Alicia’s happiness. [Br. Lit.: Dickens “The Magic Fishbone” ]leprechaunsmall supernatural creature associated with shoemaking and hidden treasure. [Irish Folklore: Benét, 579]Mab, Queenfairies’ midwife delivers man’s brain of dreams. [Br. Legend: Benét, 610]Oberonand Titania King and Queen of the Fairies. [Br. Drama: Shakespeare A Midsummer Night’s Dream]Pigwigginhis love for Queen Mab ruptures her harmony with Oberon. [Br. Poetry: Nymphidia in Barnhart, 824]Puckthe “shrewd and knavish sprite” who causes minor catastrophes and embarrassing situations. [Br. Drama: Shakespeare A Midsummer Night’s Dream]Tinker Bellfairy friend of Peter Pan. [Br. Lit.: J. M. Barrie Peter Pan]

Fairies

(dreams)These mystical, magical creatures are a part of European, Roman and Greek folklore. They are known for their fickle nature, for their ability to grant wishes and for their whims of trickery. Fairies have a capacity for malice, their tools are wands and rings and they can generally be found in groups of three. The idea of three fairies is at times interpreted as representing childhood, adulthood, and old age, or birth, life, and death. Fairies may be called the “mistresses of magic” and they may symbolize the extraordinary powers of the human spirit and our fundamental capacity of imagination. Alternatively, we may want to hold on to beliefs in magical powers that will save us from ourselves. In order to be well-adjusted human beings, we need to adapt to our environment and accept our limitations. The fairy in your dream may be interpreted according to the details of the dream and according to your current issues or developmental dilemmas. Is the fairy in your dream providing hope by encouraging you to be creative and resourceful, or is she playing tricks on you and perpetuating your desire to be saved by magic?

fairy

fair·y

fairy

fair•y

fairy

fairy

fairy

fairy

away with the fairies

fairy godmother

be away with the fairies

airy-fairy

tooth fairy

fairy tale

fairy godmother

tooth fairy

away with the fairies

a fairy godmother

(away) with the fairies

a/your ˌfairy ˈgodmother

airy-fairy

fairy

fairy tale

fairy

fairy,

Bibliography

What does it mean when you dream about a fairy?

Fairy

Fairies

fairy

Synonyms for fairy

noun sprite

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Synonyms for fairy

noun a small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers

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noun offensive term for an openly homosexual man

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