song and dance
Definition
Noun: 1. A long, elaborate, and often misleading or evasive story or explanation: A "song and dance" is a lengthy, detailed, and frequently exaggerated or insincere account, often told to excuse a mistake, avoid a subject, or persuade someone. 2. A theatrical performance combining singing and dancing: This is the original, literal meaning referring to a stage act or a section of a musical show that features both vocal and dance elements.
Usage Examples
- Noun (Meaning 1: Elaborate/evasive story):
- He gave me a long song and dance about why he was late, but I think he just overslept.
- Don't give me that song and dance; just tell me the truth about what happened.
- The salesman gave us the usual song and dance about the car's amazing features.
- Noun (Meaning 2: Theatrical performance):
- The musical featured a spectacular song and dance number in the second act.
- The vaudeville performer was known for his comedic song and dance routine.
Advanced Usage
- The phrase is most commonly used in its figurative sense (Meaning 1) in modern, informal English. It often carries a negative connotation of annoyance or disbelief.
- It is typically used with verbs like give, make, or go into.
- She gave me a whole song and dance about her computer crashing.
- He went into a song and dance about his difficult childhood.
Variants and Related Words
- Song-and-dance man (noun): An old-fashioned term for a male entertainer who performs singing and dancing acts, especially in vaudeville or musical theater.
Synonyms
- For Meaning 1: spiel, rigmarole/rigamarole, tale, story, excuse, justification, patter.
- For Meaning 2: musical number, performance, routine, act.
Related Idioms
- Make a (whole) song and dance about something: To make an unnecessary fuss or commotion about something; to treat a minor issue as if it were very important.
- It's just a small scratch on the car; there's no need to make a whole song and dance about it.
Noun
-
an interesting but highly implausible story; often told as an excuse
-
theatrical performance combining singing and dancing
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