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Synonyms

snake oil

American

noun

any of various liquid concoctions of questionable medical value sold as an all-purpose curative, especially by traveling hucksters.
Slang. deceptive talk or actions; hooey; bunkum.

The governor promised to lower taxes, but it was the same old snake oil.

snake oil Idioms

see under banana oil.

Other Word Forms

snake-oil

adjective

Etymology

Origin of snake oil

An Americanism dating back to 1925–30

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.