fairy story vs fairy tale

fairy story and fairy tale both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
fairy story	Yes	No	No	No
fairy tale	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, fairy story and fairy tale are synonyms defined as:

fairy story and fairy tale: a story about fairies; told to amuse children

Other synonyms of fairy story include fairytale.

As nouns, fairy story and fairy tale are synonyms defined as:

fairy story and fairy tale: an interesting but highly implausible story; often told as an excuse

Other synonyms of fairy story include cock-and-bull story, fairytale, song and dance.

fairy story (noun)	fairy tale (noun)
a story about fairies; told to amuse children	a story about fairies; told to amuse children
an interesting but highly implausible story; often told as an excuse	an interesting but highly implausible story; often told as an excuse