song and dance

Definition of song and dancenext
as in rhetoric
language marked by abstractions, jargon, euphemisms, and circumlocutions instead of simply denying our request, the mayor's representative gave us a song and dance about legal issues and municipal liability

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of song and dance In the 19th century, flamenco dancers began using the abanico as an expressive prop, as Cuban song and dance styles such as the guajira influenced the dance form. — ABC News, 1 Sep. 2026 My initial eye-roll reaction to this song and dance would suggest that in late May, shortly after the restaurant opened, my whimsy levels were running dangerously low. — Elazar Sontag, Washington Post, 27 Aug. 2026 This was before their dominance era, so the old noisy neighbours wanted to make a big song and dance out of the deal and erected a huge ‘Welcome to Manchester’ billboard to reflect what would soon be a changing of the guard in the city. — Tim Spiers, New York Times, 9 Aug. 2026 Luis Arraez is familiar with the song and dance of the trade deadline. — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 20 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for song and dance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for song and dance
Noun
  • The political right has been targeting Indian Americans for more than a year, with racist rhetoric deployed against the H1-B visa program, Sikh truck drivers and Hindu temples and festivals.
    — Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Tweets about Cunningham, thinkpieces, and rebuttals have all swirled into an endless mass of controversy — one dominated by derogatory rhetoric, threats, and anti-trans memes.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 10 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • And the rigmarole of international travel is a very good reason.
    — R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 18 Apr. 2026
  • Alternatives were mooted, such as filming in England, but flying all the crew from Poland, and their associated visa requirements, would have added to the rigmarole.
    — Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • This dumbed-down Goebbels gobbledygook revived talking points that Habermas had tried to quash during the Historikerstreit.
    — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 15 June 2026
  • But at least some of it was gobbledygook.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 15 June 2026
Noun
  • Some of the symposium's organizers, like Ashley Mason, a clinical psychologist at the University of California, San Francisco, acknowledge their goal is partly to dispel the whiff of wellness hype.
    — Will Stone, NPR, 11 Oct. 2026
  • And the hype and excitement around AI can cause some investors to put blinders on.
    — Kevin Williams, CNBC, 9 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Dozens of countries’ names were misspelled or written in pure gibberish.
    — Jim Edwards, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Dozens of other countries' names were misspelled or written in pure gibberish.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Pat Paulsen, a master of dry wit, delivered droll, double-talk editorials on social issues before mounting a presidential campaign in 1968 with the Straight Talkin’ American Government (STAG) Party.
    — Fred A. Bernstein, Washington Post, 27 Dec. 2023
  • What new form of narrative, what gory amalgam of truth and spectacle, what double-talking rough beast approaches?
    — James Parker, The Atlantic, 3 Oct. 2023

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Cite this Entry

“Song and dance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/song%20and%20dance. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.

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