Meanings
- idiomaticuncountableA fraudulent, ineffective potion or nostrum; panacea.
- uncountableA traditional Chinese medicine used to treat joint pain.
- uncountableA 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.
- idiomaticuncountableAny product with exaggerated marketing but questionable or unverifiable quality.
1 more example
As for the IRP, Secretary of State Grant Shapps continues to peddle snake oil, smoke and mirrors. His reaction to near-universal IRP condemnation from politicians, local and national media, and all but a few rail specialists was to dismiss the lot of us (in the condescending and patronising tone we have now come to expect) as "critics and naysayers".
2022 January 12, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Unhappy start to 2022”, in RAIL, number 948, page 3
Synonyms & antonyms
nouncommunication (written or spoken) intended to deceive
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Danish kvaksalverprodukt
- kvaksalverproduktfraudulent, ineffective potion or nostrum
Finnish huijauslääke, käärmeöljy
- huijauslääkefraudulent, ineffective potion or nostrum
- käärmeöljytraditional Chinese medicine
French poudre de perlimpinpin
- poudre de perlimpinpinfraudulent, ineffective potion or nostrum
German Quacksalberprodukt
- Quacksalberproduktfraudulent, ineffective potion or nostrum
Polish olej z węża, olej z węża
- olej z wężafraudulent, ineffective potion or nostrum
- olej z wężatraditional Chinese medicine
Portuguese pó de perlimpimpim
- pó de perlimpimpimfraudulent, ineffective potion or nostrum
Spanish aceite serpentino
- aceite serpentinotraditional Chinese medicine
Cite this entry
snake oil. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/snake%20oil
“snake oil.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/snake%20oil. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “snake oil,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/snake%20oil.
Source: snake oil on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.