snake-oil salesman
Fraudulent cure hawker
A snake-oil salesman is someone who sells fraudulent or worthless products while making extravagant claims about their effectiveness.
The term comes from 19th-century American peddlers who hawked dubious patent medicines.
Now it applies broadly to anyone pushing questionable remedies, investments, or ideas with aggressive salesmanship: That crypto promoter is just a snake-oil salesman.
- charlatanFaker claiming false expertise
- con artistProfessional fraud perpetrator
- hucksterAggressive, unscrupulous peddler
- conArgument against
- swindleDeception for financial gain
quack · fraud · scam · bait and switch · pitch · fast talker · elixir · magic elixir · tonic · carnival · old west · wagon · cure-all · grifter · hustle · remedy · traveling · miracle
- smooth talkerssmooth talker, smooth-talker, sweet talker, sweet-talker, fast talker
snake-oil salesmanmedical doctor
Licensed healthcare practitioner
snake-oil salesmanphilanthropist
Donor to charitable causes
Good Samaritan · altruist · benefactor · humanitarian · do-gooder
snake, salesman, snakes, snaked, snaking, snakelike, oils, oiling, oiliness