medicine show

American  

noun

1. a traveling troupe, especially in the late 1800s, offering entertainment in order to attract customers for the patent medicines or purported cures proffered for sale.

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Etymology

Origin of medicine show

An Americanism dating back to 1935–40

Example Sentences

The early trial results, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, show the experimental treatment can be given safely to adolescents and young children, from the age of two onwards.

From BBC

So guitarist/songwriter Steve Wynn revived the indie label he started back in the ’80s and “Medicine Show” was free again.

From Salon

“Medicine Show” was a record that either confounded or delighted fans of “alternative music” back in the early ’80s.

From Salon

“Medicine Show” was “Radio Ethiopia” in terms of the sonic and energetic fields it encompassed compared to the band’s debut, “The Days of Wine and Roses,” which gave them their spot in the New American Underground.

From Salon

“Medicine Show” was the result, and you loved it, or you hated it, but if you hated it, you were probably in the wrong place to begin with.

From Salon