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
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Recent Examples of song and dance
There’s a dead body or two, a frothy song and dance number and absurd plot twists aplenty.
—
Randy Myers, Mercury News, 26 Nov. 2025
As the education ministry announced the grades for tens of thousands of high school students like Doaa, there was a buzz in the air as Palestinians set off fireworks and embraced in song and dance.
—Kareem El Damanhoury, CNN Money, 15 Nov. 2025
The film depicts her establishment of the utopian society while the Shakers worship with song and dance.
—Giana Levy, Variety, 6 Nov. 2025
This aptitude for song and dance, combined with some friend-of-a-friend magic, was enough to get Taylor an audience with two people who would change her life.
—Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for song and dance
Randy Myers, Mercury News, 26 Nov. 2025
As the education ministry announced the grades for tens of thousands of high school students like Doaa, there was a buzz in the air as Palestinians set off fireworks and embraced in song and dance.
—Kareem El Damanhoury, CNN Money, 15 Nov. 2025
The film depicts her establishment of the utopian society while the Shakers worship with song and dance.
—Giana Levy, Variety, 6 Nov. 2025
This aptitude for song and dance, combined with some friend-of-a-friend magic, was enough to get Taylor an audience with two people who would change her life.
—Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for song and dance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for song and dance
Noun
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The image and the rhetoric are not only unfair but untrue, said Marlene.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
31 Jan. 2026
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Hostile video appears on screen During a presentation, a video of a man shouting anti‑Israeli rhetoric appeared on the screen.—
Erin Jones,
CBS News,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Now, there’s a bit of rigmarole in getting that price, which includes (according to Google Translate) nabbing a time-specific coupon worth $286 and trading in your old phone.—
Janhoi McGregor,
Forbes.com,
24 Jan. 2026
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Everyone was perfectly lovely and perfectly tepid about going through the whole rigamarole again.—
Lauren Bans,
Vulture,
5 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Meaningless gobbledygook to an outsider, yet powerful to those who know how to wield those sounds properly.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
17 Oct. 2025
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Bob Kring DeBary Congressional bill is full of greed The Great Big Beautiful Bill reads like 950 pages of of gobbledygook distilled into four words: Greedy, stingy, mean and short-sighted.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
2 July 2025
Noun
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Games and the hype around them are huge cultural touchpoints.—
The Sports Desk,
NBC news,
31 Jan. 2026
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After years of hype and preparation, Formula 1’s new technical era for 2026 got underway this week in Barcelona in somewhat unusual fashion.—
Luke Smith,
New York Times,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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In Anthropic’s experiments, as few as 250 malicious documents were enough to induce AI models to output gibberish.—
Craig S. Smith,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
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Vril and Agartha have thrived in part because of the way the editors mix brainrot and bigotry, disguising their ideological assaults in the fried fog of GifTok rap gibberish.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Driving the news: The statement was published only in English on the Facebook page of the Israeli Prime Minister's Office — potentially another case of double-talk by Netanyahu.—
Barak Ravid,
Axios,
27 Sep. 2024
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The GOP Senate candidate in Arizona, whose brand is a combative, never-back-down MAGA politics, has adopted a position on the issue that is nearly indistinguishable from that of double-talking Democrats.—
Rich Lowry,
National Review,
14 Apr. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Song and dance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/song%20and%20dance. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
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