BANANA OIL

PRONUNCIATION: (buh-NAN-uh oyl)

MEANING: noun:
1. Nonsense.
2. Insincere talk or flattery.

ETYMOLOGY: It’s not known why the banana oil earned this sense, although “to go bananas” means to be crazy or wildly enthusiastic. Perhaps the sense arose because the liquid known as banana oil does not involve bananas at all. Instead, it’s a mixture of amyl acetate and cellulose that has a banana-like odor and is used as food flavoring and a solvent. Earliest documented use: 1927.
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BANANA TOIL - what Harry Belafonte was singing about in 1956

MAÑANA OIL - makes it easier to put things off until tomorrow

BAN A NAIL - permit the use only of wooden pegs