When I use a word…: Quacks

There are several pejorative names for doctors or peddlers of supposedly ineffective medicines, and most of them relate to advertising. Quacks were originally called quacksalvers, supposedly because they “quacked” or boasted about their salves; a mountebank was a man who climbed on to a soapbox (Italian: monte banco) to shout his wares at a fair; and a charlatan was wont to prattle (Italian: ciarlare) about his medicines. On the other hand, an …