nostrum

American  

[nos-truhm] / ˈnɒs trəm /

noun

1. a medicine sold with false or exaggerated claims and with no demonstrable value; quack medicine.

2. a pet scheme or remedy, especially for social or political ills; panacea.

   The party was pushing the nostrum of corporate tax reduction, as if that would undo decades of industrial job loss.

3. a medicine made by the person who recommends it.

4. a patent medicine.

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nostrum British  

/ ˈnɒstrəm /

noun

1. a patent or quack medicine

2. a favourite remedy, as for political or social problems

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Etymology

Origin of nostrum

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin: literally, “our, ours” (neuter singular of noster ), with a noun such as remedium “remedy, cure” being understood; referring to the seller's calling the drug “our” drug

Example Sentences

He has taken Emerson’s nostrum about consistency being “the hobgoblin of little minds” to its acid-flashback extreme: no consistency, no mind to speak of, but one hell of a hobgoblin.

From Salon

But it gave their adversaries the opening they needed to question the severity of the outbreak or the policy recommendations themselves, and to promote useless nostrums.

From Los Angeles Times

Marketers of economic nostrums such as cryptocurrency and gold investments flood the airwaves with come-ons, and they don’t win customers by proclaiming that sunny days lie ahead.

From Los Angeles Times

It is full of desperation and hope, and it does not settle for nostrums.

From Los Angeles Times

In the flesh, the document is an agglomeration of misinformation, platitudes and premasticated nostrums.

From Los Angeles Times