snake oil

S s

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [sneyk oil]
- /sneɪk ɔɪl/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [sneyk oil]
- /sneɪk ɔɪl/

Definitions of snake oil words

noun snake oil any of various liquid concoctions of questionable medical value sold as an all-purpose curative, especially by traveling hucksters. 1
noun snake oil Slang. deceptive talk or actions; hooey; bunkum: The governor promised to lower taxes, but it was the same old snake oil. 1
uncountable noun snake oil Snake oil is used to refer to any substance that is claimed to be a medical remedy but which in fact has no healing properties. 0
noun snake oil any pseudo-medical remedy endorsed by a non-qualified person 0
noun snake oil talk that is intended to impress others but is insincere or deceiving 0
noun snake oil a liquid substance with no real medicinal value sold as a cure-all or nostrum, esp. in a medicine show 0

See all 6 definitions of snake oil

Information block about the term

Origin of snake oil

First appearance:

before 1925

One of the 11% newest English words

An Americanism dating back to 1925-30

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Snake oil

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Snake oil

snake oil popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 37% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 55% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

snake oil usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for snake oil

noun snake oil

fraud — deceit, trickery, sharp practice, or breach of confidence, perpetrated for profit or to gain some unfair or dishonest advantage.

Just one Synonym for snake oil