%nostrum%

n.; pl. Nostrums [ Neut. sing. of L. noster ours, fr. nos we. See Us. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A medicine, the ingredients of which are kept secret for the purpose of restricting the profits of sale to the inventor or proprietor; a quack medicine. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Any scheme or device proposed by a quack. [ 1913 Webster ]

The incentives of agitators, the arts of impostors and the nostrums of quacks. Brougham. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Any scheme asserted to solve a problem, but with no objective basis for belief in its effectiveness; esp., in politics, a scheme or proposal likely to prove popular with voters. [ PJC ]