banana oil

noun
1.
a sweet-smelling liquid ester, C 7 H 14 O 2 , a mixture of isomers derived from amyl alcohol and having the characteristic odor of bananas: used chiefly as a paint solvent and in artificial fruit flavors; amyl acetate.
2.
Slang. insincere talk; nonsense.
Origin
1925-30
Examples from the web for banana oil
  • One of these bottles also contains a small amount of banana oil.
  • The purpose of this test is to determine if you can smell banana oil at a low concentration.
  • The banana oil method is not suited for fit-testing dust masks.
  • It's strictly the banana oil test being able to mask, basic soldier, common task training.
  • Iso amyl acetate is also known as pear oil or banana oil.
British Dictionary definitions for banana oil

banana oil

noun
1.
a solution of cellulose nitrate in pentyl acetate or a similar solvent, which has a banana-like smell
2.
a nontechnical name for pentyl acetate
Slang definitions & phrases for banana oil

banana oil

noun

Nonsense, esp when used to flatter and mislead; bunk

[1910+; perhaps fr the oily smoothness and fruity odor of banana oil, amyl acetate]


Idioms and Phrases with banana oil

banana oil

Nonsense, exaggerated flattery, as in I should be on television? Cut out the banana oil! The precise analogy in this idiom is not clear, unless it is to the fact that banana oil, a paint solvent and artificial flavoring agent, has no relation to the fruit other than that it smells like it. Possibly it is a variation on snake oil, a term for quack medicine that was extended to mean nonsense. [ 1920s ]