snake oil

noun

1

: any of various substances or mixtures sold (as by a traveling medicine show) as medicine usually without regard to their medical worth or properties

2

: poppycock, bunkum

Examples of snake oil in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For every legit product on the market, there are also gallons of snake oil. —Jon Bier, Rolling Stone, 12 Dec. 2024

She’s got more important things to worry about than being accused of becoming a snake oil salesman; McEntire returns to the spinning chair on The Voice tonight for season 25. —Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2024

Then, these same brands dutifully patent an expensive snake oil antidote for poisoning you. —Harmony Holiday, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2024

This type of snake oil, Pedersen says, was indeed an effective anti-inflammatory. —Jordan Friedman, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

snake oil

noun

: any of various substances or mixtures sold (as by a traveling medicine show) as medicine usually without having had the claims of their medical worth or properties substantiated by scientific tests