snake oiln.

Brit.

/ˈsneɪk ɔɪl/, U.S.

/ˈsneɪk ˌɔɪl/

Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: snake n., oil n.¹

Etymology: < snake n. + oil n.¹

1. A substance or product sold as a remedy for a disease or medical condition but which has no real medicinal value; a panacea.In early use often with reference to a substance actually claiming to contain oil derived from snakes.Quot. 1827 shows an example of rattle snake oil.

ΚΠ

1827 Indiana State Jrnl. (Indianapolis) 5 June The subscriber is authorized to purchase a quantity of pure Rattle Snake Oil at his Store.]

1831 Sydney Gaz. 8 Dec. These products,..which are applied to medical purposes, should be specially described, whether they enter into the established pharmacopoeia, or are employed as succadanea by the regular practitioners... For instance..emu oil, snake oil, extract of centipedes, &c.

1911 Washington Post 10 May 6/6 When his rheumatism got so bad that he creaked like an old gate every time he swung around, he was advised..to come up here and apply snake oil to his hinges.

1946 E. O'Neill Iceman Cometh i. 90 I'll bet he's standing on a street corner in hell right now, making suckers of the damned, telling them there's nothing like snake oil for a bad burn.

2007 C. MacFarlane Real Gorbals Story (2009) xv. 118 Just along the street from Bobby's [market] pitch, a big African man sold exotic so-called snake oil, which he claimed was ‘from the dark jungles where no white man has set foot’.

2. figurative. Something proposed as a solution to a problem, but which is of little real or practical value; speech or action which is superficially attractive or convincing but of no real substance or effectiveness.

ΚΠ

1961 Washington Post 10 May a4/2 Advertisers who try to ‘lubricate the wheels of our economy with snake oil’.

1996 Sunday Tel. 11 Aug. 21/3 While Mr Kemp was breezily saying that budget deficits did not matter, Mr Dole was grumbling that supplyside economics was nothing but snake-oil.

2017 New European 10 Feb. 23/4 Politicians on both sides of the Atlantic use every rhetorical trick in the book to try to sell us their snake oil.

Compounds

C1. As a modifier, as in snake-oil remedy, snake-oil seller, etc.

ΚΠ

1884 Santa Maria (Calif.) Times 1 Nov. The snake-oil venders paid our town a visit..and by their oily ways snaked a good many 50 cent pieces away with them.

1911 Washington Post 10 May 6/6 He has practically decided to encourage the stiffness in his joints and abandon the snake oil remedy recommended to him and which came very near landing him in jail.

1927 S. V. Benét John Brown's Body 294 Crooked creatures of a thousand dubious trades,..sellers of snake-oil balm and lucky rings.

1979 U.S. News & World Rep. (Nexis) 18 June 31 Thanks to you,..the latter-day descendant of the silver-tongue snake-oil purveyor has been tongue-tied.

2011 Financial Times 19 Sept. 14/3 Given the contradictions and likely unintended consequences, ringfencing resembles a snake-oil remedy, highly unlikely to prevent another financial crisis.

C2.

snake-oil salesman n. (originally) a person who sells snake oil; (later chiefly figurative) a person who sells or promotes something which is superficially attractive or convincing, but is ultimately of no real substance or value.

ΚΠ

1910 Kansas City Times 14 Oct. 4/2 The jury..will have to determine whether street fakers and snake oil salesmen, who cry their concoctions from boxes under the viaduct..are a detriment to property in the neighborhood.

1939 Variety 26 Oct. 53/2 If the industry itself isn't able to keep snake oil salesmen and troublemakers off the air, however, the faction favoring more stringent regulation is poised to press the campaign again.

1981 D. Anderson Rough Layout iv. 26 Keep that idiot snake-oil salesman out of my hair... I don't want to see him unless he's about to blow up and burst on a blast of his own hot air.

2022 @comradeyoza 4 Mar. in twitter.com (accessed 10 Mar. 2022) It looks like he's more of a very clever snake-oil salesman than anything else.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2022).

单词	snake oil
释义	snake oiln. Brit. /ˈsneɪk ɔɪl/, U.S. /ˈsneɪk ˌɔɪl/ Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: snake n., oil n.¹ Etymology: < snake n. + oil n.¹ 1. A substance or product sold as a remedy for a disease or medical condition but which has no real medicinal value; a panacea.In early use often with reference to a substance actually claiming to contain oil derived from snakes.Quot. 1827 shows an example of rattle snake oil. ΚΠ 1827 Indiana State Jrnl. (Indianapolis) 5 June The subscriber is authorized to purchase a quantity of pure Rattle Snake Oil at his Store.] 1831 Sydney Gaz. 8 Dec. These products,..which are applied to medical purposes, should be specially described, whether they enter into the established pharmacopoeia, or are employed as succadanea by the regular practitioners... For instance..emu oil, snake oil, extract of centipedes, &c. 1911 Washington Post 10 May 6/6 When his rheumatism got so bad that he creaked like an old gate every time he swung around, he was advised..to come up here and apply snake oil to his hinges. 1946 E. O'Neill Iceman Cometh i. 90 I'll bet he's standing on a street corner in hell right now, making suckers of the damned, telling them there's nothing like snake oil for a bad burn. 2007 C. MacFarlane Real Gorbals Story (2009) xv. 118 Just along the street from Bobby's [market] pitch, a big African man sold exotic so-called snake oil, which he claimed was ‘from the dark jungles where no white man has set foot’. 2. figurative. Something proposed as a solution to a problem, but which is of little real or practical value; speech or action which is superficially attractive or convincing but of no real substance or effectiveness. ΚΠ 1961 Washington Post 10 May a4/2 Advertisers who try to ‘lubricate the wheels of our economy with snake oil’. 1996 Sunday Tel. 11 Aug. 21/3 While Mr Kemp was breezily saying that budget deficits did not matter, Mr Dole was grumbling that supplyside economics was nothing but snake-oil. 2017 New European 10 Feb. 23/4 Politicians on both sides of the Atlantic use every rhetorical trick in the book to try to sell us their snake oil. Compounds C1. As a modifier, as in snake-oil remedy, snake-oil seller, etc. ΚΠ 1884 Santa Maria (Calif.) Times 1 Nov. The snake-oil venders paid our town a visit..and by their oily ways snaked a good many 50 cent pieces away with them. 1911 Washington Post 10 May 6/6 He has practically decided to encourage the stiffness in his joints and abandon the snake oil remedy recommended to him and which came very near landing him in jail. 1927 S. V. Benét John Brown's Body 294 Crooked creatures of a thousand dubious trades,..sellers of snake-oil balm and lucky rings. 1979 U.S. News & World Rep. (Nexis) 18 June 31 Thanks to you,..the latter-day descendant of the silver-tongue snake-oil purveyor has been tongue-tied. 2011 Financial Times 19 Sept. 14/3 Given the contradictions and likely unintended consequences, ringfencing resembles a snake-oil remedy, highly unlikely to prevent another financial crisis. C2. snake-oil salesman n. (originally) a person who sells snake oil; (later chiefly figurative) a person who sells or promotes something which is superficially attractive or convincing, but is ultimately of no real substance or value. ΚΠ 1910 Kansas City Times 14 Oct. 4/2 The jury..will have to determine whether street fakers and snake oil salesmen, who cry their concoctions from boxes under the viaduct..are a detriment to property in the neighborhood. 1939 Variety 26 Oct. 53/2 If the industry itself isn't able to keep snake oil salesmen and troublemakers off the air, however, the faction favoring more stringent regulation is poised to press the campaign again. 1981 D. Anderson Rough Layout iv. 26 Keep that idiot snake-oil salesman out of my hair... I don't want to see him unless he's about to blow up and burst on a blast of his own hot air. 2022 @comradeyoza 4 Mar. in twitter.com (accessed 10 Mar. 2022) It looks like he's more of a very clever snake-oil salesman than anything else. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2022). < n.1831
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