song and dance

noun

1

: a musical performance that combines singing and dancing

—often used before another noun

choreographed a song and dance routine

a popular song and dance number

2

a

: a long and often familiar statement, explanation, etc. that is usually not true or pertinent

They gave the teacher the usual song and dance about leaving their homework at home.

… proceeded to engage in the same old song and dance about bringing more jobs and economic development to the area …

—Julie DiCaro

b

: fuss, to-do

For some years, those who know Portuguese wines well have made quite a song and dance about the cornucopia of wonderful grape varieties that are native to Portugal …

—Jane Hall

c

: a tedious procedure or scenario : rigmarole

When you travel internationally, there's a whole song and dance of answering questions and declaring items you have to go through before re-entering the U.S.

—Patrick Allan

Synonyms

• bafflegab
• double-talk
• gibberish
• gobbledygook
• gobbledegook
• rigmarole
• rigamarole

Examples of song and dance in a Sentence

instead of simply denying our request, the mayor's representative gave us a song and dance about legal issues and municipal liability

Recent Examples on the Web

This is all a familiar song and dance: Ambitious ideas about reducing health care spending quickly run into political reality, which includes heavy backlash from the health care industry. —Caitlin Owens, Axios, 28 Feb. 2025

Check out Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, an annual festival of song and dance, which runs in a different city, town, or village around the country every August. —Yvonne Gordon, AFAR Media, 31 Jan. 2025

Marking Domingo’s feature directing debut, the movie chronicles the fallout of the race-barrier breaking affair between the song and dance man and Kim Novak – played by Sydney Sweeney – in 1957. —Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 17 Feb. 2025

There are grand old-fashioned song and dance spectacles but also solo numbers that do fine without any extravagance. —Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 6 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1613, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for song and dance

• circumstance
• exceedance
• happenstance
• refinance
• advance
• askance
• enhance
• expanse
• finance
• freelance
• mischance
• perchance