quacks
Fake medicine peddlers
Quacks is the plural of quack, which has two distinct meanings.
A quack is the harsh sound a duck makes, and to quack is to make that sound: The ducks quacked at us as we approached the pond.
Separately, a quack is a fraudulent or incompetent doctor—someone who quacks like they know medicine but doesn't.
The term extends to any charlatan peddling dubious remedies or expertise: snake oil quacks, The internet is full of health quacks.
Traveling seller of fake remedies
- impostorOne feigning another's identity
- fakerOne who pretends
- phonyFraudulent person or thing
- pretenderIllegitimate claimant to power
fraudster · swindler · conman · grifter · hustler · shyster · snake-oil · pseudoscientist
Loud nasal blast
- squawkHarsh grating bird cry
- callContact by phone
- vocalizationProducing sounds with voice
- noiseUnwanted auditory disturbance
cackle · gabble · chatter · cry · screech · rasp · croak · blare
Bogus methodology posing as factual
- snake-oilFraudulent cure-all
- remedyCurative treatment or fix
- cure-allSupposed universal remedy
- elixirMythical healing draught
nostrum · placebo · homeopathy · naturopath · alternative · unproven · dubious · malpractice
mountebank
Traveling seller of fake remedies
pretender · fraudster · swindler · conman · grifter · hustler · shyster · snake-oil · pseudoscientist · huckster
mallard
Common dabbling waterfowl
hen · flock · waddle · dabbling · beak · feathers · webbed · paddle · preen · brood
honk
Loud nasal blast
- squawkHarsh grating bird cry
- callContact by phone
- vocalizationProducing sounds with voice
noise · cackle · gabble · chatter · cry · screech · rasp · croak · blare · nasal
pseudoscience
Bogus methodology posing as factual
elixir · nostrum · placebo · homeopathy · naturopath · alternative · unproven · dubious · malpractice · unlicensed
quacksdoctors
Licensed medical practitioners
MDs · surgeons · specialists · healthcare professionals · medical experts
- to quack like a duckMimic waterfowl speech
- quack medicineFraudulent remedy, no efficacy
- quack like a duckImitate waterfowl vocalizations
- quack remedyFake cure peddled deceptively
- duck quackSound a waterfowl makes
- quack doctorUnqualified person practicing medicine