quack remedy
Fraudulent medical treatment
A quack remedy is a fraudulent or unproven medical treatment, typically promoted with exaggerated claims by someone without legitimate medical credentials.
The term combines quack (a fake doctor or charlatan) with remedy to emphasize the dubious nature of the cure: Desperate patients often turn to quack remedies when conventional medicine fails them.
The phrase carries strong skepticism about both the treatment and its promoter.
- snake oilFraudulent cure-all
- snake oil salesmanFraudulent remedy peddler
- charlatanFaker claiming false expertise
- elixirMythical healing draught
- tonicInvigorating medicinal drink
patent medicine · cure-all · hoax · fraudulent · placebo · nostrum · huckster · pill pusher · swindle · false promise · miracle cure · potion · quick fix · peddler · pseudoscience · bogus · sham · medicine show
- cure-allspanacea, cure-all, nostrum, snake oil, miracle cure
- quackerysnake oil, cure-all, miracle cure, panacea, patent medicine