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View synonyms for snake oil
snake oil
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.
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Other Words From
- snake-oil adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of snake oil1
An Americanism dating back to 1925–30
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Idioms and Phrases
see under banana oil .Advertisement
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Related Words
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.
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