noun
dubious story; cock-and-bull story; questionable information
Refers to a story or piece of information that seems unreliable or suspicious, often used when one doubts its truthfulness. The expression originates from the gesture of wetting one's eyebrow with saliva to avoid being deceived.
彼の話はどうも眉唾物だ。
His story sounds pretty dubious.
ネットで見たその情報は眉唾物
The information I saw online was questionable.
The literal phrase meaning 'to spit on one's eyebrows', from which 眉唾物 derives. It refers to the folk belief that doing so prevents being fooled by a fox or tanuki.
From 眉 (eyebrow) + 唾 (saliva) + 物 (thing). Derives from the saying 眉に唾をつける (to spit on one's eyebrows), a superstitious gesture believed to protect against being deceived by foxes or tanuki. The exact historical origin is uncertain, but the expression is well-established in modern Japanese.