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
There was also a song and dance number about the contenders’ notoriously long running times, as well as an appearance by a hoodie-wearing Adam Sandler.
—
Jordan Moreau, Variety, 2 Mar. 2025
Barney & Friends, which was produced from 1992 to 2009, was a childhood staple and introduced viewers to Barney, an imaginary and perpetually optimistic tyrannosaurus rex that teaches lessons about friendship through song and dance.
—Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Feb. 2025
Lee’s followers deemed her the female Jesus Christ, and her worshippers prayed through song and dance, hence her story getting the musical biopic treatment.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 21 Feb. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for song and dance
Jordan Moreau, Variety, 2 Mar. 2025
Barney & Friends, which was produced from 1992 to 2009, was a childhood staple and introduced viewers to Barney, an imaginary and perpetually optimistic tyrannosaurus rex that teaches lessons about friendship through song and dance.
—Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Feb. 2025
Lee’s followers deemed her the female Jesus Christ, and her worshippers prayed through song and dance, hence her story getting the musical biopic treatment.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 21 Feb. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for song and dance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for song and dance
Noun
-
Trump’s election confirmed, to some on the Left, that the country really was as bad as some of their harshest rhetoric suggested.—
Alexander Nazaryan,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
21 Mar. 2025
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An evaluation of Trump’s past rhetoric and actions and the FCPA’s benefits for American business suggests that foreign corruption enforcement is not going anywhere soon.—
Robert Anello,
Forbes,
21 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Is there a company that prides itself on an absence of rigmarole?—
Jay Nordlinger,
National Review,
22 July 2024
-
Last season’s nail-biting seven-game battle was famously known as the I-80 series because both teams opted for the approximately 90-minute (depending on traffic) bus ride rather than the rigmarole of a short flight.—
Joe Rubin,
Sacramento Bee,
16 Apr. 2024
Noun
-
As always, Yellowjackets is full of mind-bending detours, supernatural gobbledygook, and foliage-laden costumes.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
18 Feb. 2025
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Apologies to the Lois Lane stans out there, but Adams is mostly on hand in these movies to deliver stern gobbledygook (something about isotopes?) and stare at Henry Cavill’s cheekbones.—
Matthew Jacobs,
Vulture,
6 Dec. 2024
Noun
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While his wife, Mark’s sister Devon, seems to regard her husband’s new-age gibberish with indifference or annoyance, there are people in Ricken’s orbit who can match his freak.—
Samantha Allen,
Them,
25 Feb. 2025
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The child first dialed 911 and began saying gibberish to the dispatcher before hanging up and dialing again.—
Landon Mion,
Fox News,
1 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Song and dance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/song%20and%20dance. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
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