English Explanatory Dictionary

Baskerville effect

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The alleged self-fulfilling prophecy that there is an increase in rate of mortality through heart attacks on days considered unlucky because of the psychological stress this causes on superstitious people.

Word forms

Baskerville effect Baskerville effects

Etymology

Named after the Baskerville family from Arthur Conan Doyle's crime novel The Hound of the Baskervilles.

Synonyms

Hound of the Baskervilles effect
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