nostrum -- Dad

nos·trum  (nstrm) n. 1. A medicine whose effectiveness is unproved and whose ingredients are usually secret; a quack remedy. 2. A favorite but usually ineffective remedy for problems or evils. [From Latin nostrum (remedium), our (remedy), neuter of noster; see nes-2 in Indo-European roots.]

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As a pediatrician, Dad kept up with his own education, so he wasn't one to prescribe a nostrum.