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| a person who is notably honest, moral, or innocent |
| of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a person who is obnoxious or peculiar |
| banana oil | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a solution of cellulose nitrate in pentyl acetate or a similar solvent, which has a banana-like smell |
| 2. | a nontechnical name for pentyl acetate |
banana oil definition
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banana oil
Nonsense, exaggerated flattery, as in I should be on television? Cut out the banana oil! The precise analogy in this idiom is not clear, unless it is to the fact that banana oil, a paint solvent and artificial flavoring agent, has no relation to the fruit other than that it smells like it. Possibly it is a variation on snake oil, a term for quack medicine that was extended to mean nonsense. [1920s]