poudre de perlimpinpin
French
editEtymology
editAttested since the 17th century, originally as poudre de prelimpinpin. Compare Portuguese pó de perlimpimpim.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editpoudre de perlimpinpin f (usually uncountable, plural poudres de perlimpinpin)
- a powder, purported to have magic powers, formerly sold by charlatans
- (by extension, idiomatic) snake oil (a fraudulent cure-all or remedy)
- 2017, Emmanuel Macron, 2017, le débat, TF1/France 2:
- Donc ce que vous proposez, comme d’habitude, c’est de la poudre de perlimpinpin.
- So what you have to offer, as usual, is nothing but snake oil.
- 2017, Emmanuel Macron, 2017, le débat, TF1/France 2:
Further reading
edit- “perlimpinpin”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.