Search results
- DictionarySnake oil/ˈsnāk ˌoil/
noun
- 1. a substance with no real medicinal value sold as a remedy for all diseases. informal North American
Powered by Oxford Languages
Mar 26, 2024 · The meaning of SNAKE OIL is any of various substances or mixtures sold (as by a traveling medicine show) as medicine usually without regard to their medical worth or properties. How to use snake oil in a sentence.
a substance that is sold as a medicine but that is not at all effective and may be harmful: In the 19th century, there wasn't such a clear distinction between respectable medicine and snake oil. He peddles snake oil and miracle cures to desperate people who can't afford health insurance.
Snake oil is a term used to describe deceptive marketing, health care fraud, or a scam. Similarly, snake oil salesman is a common label used to describe someone who sells, promotes, or is a general proponent of some valueless or fraudulent cure, remedy, or solution. [1] The term comes from the "snake oil" that used to be sold as a cure-all ...
While snake oil did at one point refer to the actual oil or grease made from snakes for believed medicinal purposes, today it means 'poppycock' or 'nonsense.' Over time, the term eventually referred to mixtures sold as medicine without any regard to health or medicinal worth.
Snake oil definition: any of various liquid concoctions of questionable medical value sold as an all-purpose curative, especially by traveling hucksters.. See examples of SNAKE OIL used in a sentence.
Apr 25, 2024 · Definitions of snake oil. noun. (medicine) any of various liquids sold as medicine (as by a travelling medicine show) but medically worthless. see more. noun. communication (written or spoken) intended to deceive.
SNAKE OIL meaning: something that is sold as medicine but that is not really useful or helpful in any way often used figuratively
6 days ago · noun. 1. any of various liquid concoctions of questionable medical value sold as an all-purpose curative, esp. by traveling hucksters. 2. slang. deceptive talk or actions; hooey; bunkum. The governor promised to lower taxes, but it was the same old snake oil.
After seizing a shipment of Stanley's Snake Oil in 1917, federal investigators found that it primarily contained mineral oil, a fatty oil believed to be beef fat, red pepper and...
Aug 26, 2013 · Where'd the phrase "Snake Oil Salesman" come from? It conjures up images of seedy profiteers trying to exploit an unsuspecting public by selling them fake cures.
