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Quack vs Sham - What's the difference?

quack | sham |

As a noun quack

is the sound made by a duck or quack can be a fraudulent healer or incompetent professional, especially a doctor of medicine; an impostor who claims to have qualifications to practice medicine.

As a verb quack

is to make a noise like a duck or quack can be to practice or commit quackery.

As an adjective quack

is falsely presented as having medicinal powers.

As a proper noun sham is

syria.

quack

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) *.

Noun

(en noun)
  • The sound made by a duck.
  • Did you hear that duck make a quack ?

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To make a noise like a duck.
  • The more breadcrumbs I threw on the ground, the more they quacked .
    Do you hear the ducks quack ?
    Derived terms
    *

    References

    Etymology 2

    (wikipedia quack) c 1630, shortening of quacksalver, from (etyl)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A fraudulent healer or incompetent professional, especially a doctor of medicine; an impostor who claims to have qualifications to practice medicine.
  • That doctor is nothing but a lousy quack !
    Polly (to security guard, referring to Dr. Feingarten): Are you going to let that shyster in there?
    Dr. Feingarten': I could sue you, Polly. A shyster is a disreputable lawyer. I'm a ' quack .
    - From the motion picture
  • * 1662 : Rump: or an Exact Collection of the Choycest Poems and Songs Relating to Late Times, Vol. II , by ‘the most Eminent Wits’
  • Tis hard to say, how much these Arse-wormes do urge us, We now need no Quack but these Jacks for to purge us, [...]
  • * 1720 : William Derham, Physico-theology
  • After ?ome Months, the Quack gets privately to Town, [...]
  • * 1843 , '', book 2, ch. 8, ''The Electon
  • ‘if we are ourselves valets, there shall ‘exist no hero for us; we shall not know the hero when we see him;’ - we shall take the quack for a hero; and cry, audibly through all ballot-boxes and machinery whatsoever, Thou art he; be thou King over us!
  • A charlatan.
  • Carlyle
  • Quacks political; quacks scientific, academical.
  • (slang) A doctor.
  • Synonyms
    * See also
    Derived terms
    * (l)

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To practice or commit quackery.
  • (obsolete) To make vain and loud pretensions; to boast.
  • * Hudibras
  • To quack of universal cures.

    Adjective

    (-)
  • falsely presented as having medicinal powers.
  • Don't get your hopes up; that's quack medicine!

    sham

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Intended to deceive; false.
  • It was only a sham wedding: they didn't care much for one another but wanted their parents to stop hassling them.
  • counterfeit; unreal
  • * Jowett
  • They scorned the sham independence proffered to them by the Athenians.

    Synonyms

    * mock * See also

    Antonyms

    * genuine * sincere * real

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A fake; an imitation that purports to be genuine.
  • The time-share deal was a sham .
  • Trickery, hoaxing.
  • A con-man must be skilled in the arts of sham and deceit.
  • A false front, or removable ornamental covering.
  • A decorative cover for a pillow.
  • Derived terms

    * shamateur

    See also

    * pillow sham

    Verb

    (shamm)
  • To deceive, cheat, lie.
  • * L'Estrange
  • Fooled and shammed into a conviction.
  • To obtrude by fraud or imposition.
  • * L'Estrange
  • We must have a care that we do not sham fallacies upon the world for current reason.
  • To assume the manner and character of; to imitate; to ape; to feign.
  • Anagrams

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