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
Just stop with this whole song and dance between Kuminga and Steve Kerr.
—
Zach Harper, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026
The Shakers, as they’ll eventually be named, channel the holy spirit via song and dance.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 26 Dec. 2025
New Year's Eve is just around the corner, and what's a more Nashville way to ring in 2026 than through song and dance?
—Audrey Gibbs, Nashville Tennessean, 26 Dec. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for song and dance
Zach Harper, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026
The Shakers, as they’ll eventually be named, channel the holy spirit via song and dance.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 26 Dec. 2025
New Year's Eve is just around the corner, and what's a more Nashville way to ring in 2026 than through song and dance?
—Audrey Gibbs, Nashville Tennessean, 26 Dec. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for song and dance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for song and dance
Noun
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Like night one in Los Angeles, the usually unfiltered artist offered no commentary on the controversy and backlash surrounding him after years of antisemitic rhetoric, mental health struggles, and his public apology in a Wall Street Journal ad this past January for his antisemitic outbursts.—
Charisma Madarang,
Rolling Stone,
4 Apr. 2026
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The rapper previously shared rhetoric widely deemed as antisemitic on social media, used a 2025 Super Bowl ad to redirect viewers to a website selling a $20 swastika T-shirt, and dropped a song praising Adolf Hitler.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
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There is a lot of rigmarole there that is conveniently hidden when positing this as a common sense thing.—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Mar. 2026
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To think there was ever a world in which Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni settled out of court, or worse yet, went to court in March of this year so that, by the time this blog post is being written, they might almost be done with the whole rigamarole.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
26 Mar. 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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The Final Four hype machine was cooking with gas at Lucas Oil Stadium on Indianapolis as the four NCAA Tournament semifinalists held open practices.—
Ryan Baker,
CBS News,
4 Apr. 2026
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While there’s a lot of hype around biotin supplements for hair growth there just isn’t enough science to back it up.—
Rebecca Strong,
USA Today,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Legal gibberish Let’s start with those last two words.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
29 Mar. 2026
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Naturally, Luke and Vader make lightsaber noises and the odd gibberish babble.—
Simon Hill,
Wired News,
25 Mar. 2026
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 5 Apr. 2026.
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