snake oil salesman

collocation in English

meaningsofsnake,oilandsalesman

These words are often used together. Click on the links below to explore the meanings. Or,see other collocations withsalesman.
snake
noun[C]
uk
/sneɪk/us
/sneɪk/
a reptile with a long body and ...
See more atsnake
oil
noun
uk
/ɔɪl/us
/ɔɪl/
petroleum (= the black oil obtained from under the earth's surface from which ...
See more atoil
salesman
noun[C]
uk
/ˈseɪlz.mən/us
/ˈseɪlz.mən/
a man whose job is selling things in a shop or directly ...
See more atsalesman

(Definition ofsnake,oilandsalesmanfrom theCambridge English Dictionary© Cambridge University Press)

Examplesofsnake oil salesman

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
We are back to the snakeoilsalesman.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
It does not need them to offer the techniques of the snakeoilsalesmanor smoke and mirrors.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
What did a snakeoilsalesmando to him in the past that makes him dislike them so?
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
We have had the politics of the snakeoilsalesmanand nothing of new politics.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
We are talking about substances which, in high concentrations, may well be poisonous, and substances for which claims are made that would make the average snakeoilsalesmanblush.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Pete appears as a traveling snakeoilsalesmanwho feeds a formula to the taxi.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
By extension, a snakeoilsalesmanis someone who knowingly sells fraudulent goods or who is himself or herself a fraud, quack, charlatan, and the like.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
We are being sold snake oil by snake oil salesmen who want to perpetuate their hold on power only by rigging the system.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
If the gas salesmen and the coal salesmen were as good as the oil salesmen there would be far more gas and coal installations in the country.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
Want to learn more?
Go to the definition ofsnake
Go to the definition ofoil
Go to the definition ofsalesman
See other collocations withsalesman