Definition of snake-oil:
(n) :
Any of the suborder Serpentes of legless reptile with long, thin bodies and fork-shaped tongues.
(n) :
(figurative) A person who acts deceitfully for personal or social gain; a treacherous person.
(n) :
A tool for unclogging plumbing.
(v) :
(transitive) To clean using a plumbing snake.
(v) :
(intransitive) To follow or move in a winding route.
(v) :
(transitive, Australia, slang) To steal slyly.