snake oil salesmen
Quack remedy hawkers
Snake oil salesmen is the plural of snake oil salesman—a person who sells fraudulent or worthless products while making extravagant claims about their effectiveness.
The term comes from 19th-century American hucksters who peddled supposed miracle cures.
Now used broadly for anyone pushing dubious goods, services, or ideas with slick persuasion: Politicians are just snake oil salesmen in better suits.
- charlatanFaker claiming false expertise
- quackFake healer or fowl noise
- con artistProfessional fraud perpetrator
- hucksterAggressive, unscrupulous peddler
- fraudIntentional criminal trickery
swindler · elixir · tonic · patent medicine · miracle cure · peddler · carnival · wagon · old timey · wild west · mustache · suitcase · traveling · pitch · too good to be true · gullible · scam · remedy
- fringe believerstruthers, conspiracy theorists, flat earthers, QAnon, moon landing deniers
snake oil salesmenhonest brokers
Impartial third-party facilitators
straight shooters · truth-tellers · Good Samaritans · altruists · philanthropists
snake oil salesmenscientists
Systematic knowledge seekers
researchers · subject matter experts · research scientists · fact-checkers · investigative journalists
snake, salesman, snakes, snaked, snaking, snakelike, oils, oiling, oiliness