song and dance

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

song and dance (countable and uncountable, plural songs and dances)

  1. A display of unnecessary excitement or activity.
  2. An excessively elaborate story or excuse used to justify something.
    • 2011 December 2, Ariel Kaminer, “The Ethicist: Caveat Vendor”, in New York Times, retrieved 6 April 2015:
      You could pick up the phone, call your vendors and give them a big song and dance about all the great things happening in your company.
  3. An excessively complex set of instructions.
  4. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see song,‎ and,‎ dance.