as in rigamarole
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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Recent Examples of song and dance
The song and dance competition will feature three competitors — Sapphire Martini, Bloody Mary and April Spritz.
—
Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 18 Sep. 2025
And the bizarre song and dance numbers, for all their anachronism, pull us in further.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2025
As in a more straightforward musical, the Shakers are using song and dance to express a range of feelings that plainspoken words couldn’t hope to convey.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 1 Sep. 2025
But don’t think of it as a straightforward song and dance pic because no one is actually singing dialogue.
—Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 1 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for song and dance
Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 18 Sep. 2025
And the bizarre song and dance numbers, for all their anachronism, pull us in further.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2025
As in a more straightforward musical, the Shakers are using song and dance to express a range of feelings that plainspoken words couldn’t hope to convey.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 1 Sep. 2025
But don’t think of it as a straightforward song and dance pic because no one is actually singing dialogue.
—Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 1 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for song and dance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for song and dance
Noun
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Yet, historians have noted that his rhetoric and policies play into the individualist and patriotic characteristics associated with the beloved Western cowboy.—
Leah Asmelash,
CNN Money,
19 Oct. 2025
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Republican rhetoric didn’t appear to give protesters pause in the Bay Area on Saturday, and local Republicans appeared to stay on the sidelines.—
Grant Stringer,
Mercury News,
19 Oct. 2025
Noun
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So there are all those questions and rigmarole.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
24 Sep. 2025
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No rigamarole or bureaucracy to navigate.—
Andy Meek,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
Noun
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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
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The six-episode limited series feels like a long movie broken into arbitrary episodes, its ending is mired by digital gobbledygook, and Marvel still doesn’t know how magic makes sense in a universe ruled by advanced technology and literal gods.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
24 June 2025
Noun
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These parables sometimes read like gibberish, talking both down and up to the reader.—
Book Marks
October 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Oct. 2025
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My last thought, here, beware of the endless gibberish about the hazards of rotations.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
24 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Song and dance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/song%20and%20dance. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.
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