Meanings
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Some sources derive it from Seneca oil rather than from snake.”)
How to pronounce "snake oil":
AU
A fraudulent, ineffective potion or nostrum; panacea.
A traditional Chinese medicine used to treat joint pain.
A type of 19th-century patent medicine sold in the United States that claimed to contain snake fat, supposedly a Native American remedy for various ailments.
Any product with exaggerated marketing but questionable or unverifiable quality.
To dupe or con.
Example Sentences
1
Don't fall for his snake oil sales pitch.
2
The product he's selling is nothing more than snake oil.
3
She claimed her beauty cream was a miracle cure, but it turned out to be snake oil.
4
The politician's promises were just snake oil to win votes.
5
I can't believe people still buy into these snake oil remedies.
