song and dance

Meanings

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

countableuncountableA display of unnecessary excitement or activity.
Synonyms: fuss, palaver, ado, argy-bargy, bangarang, bobbery, brouhaha, bunfight
countableuncountableAn excessively elaborate story or excuse used to justify something.
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.
2011 December 2, Ariel Kaminer, “The Ethicist: Caveat Vendor”, in New York Times, retrieved 06 Apr 2015
Synonyms: palaver
countableuncountableAn excessively complex set of instructions.
countableuncountableUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: see song, and, dance.

nounA display of unnecessary excitement or activity.

nounAn excessively elaborate story or excuse used to justify something.

Similar

nounan interesting but highly implausible story; often told as an excuse

Broader

Also see

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cite this entry

APA

song and dance. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/song%20and%20dance

MLA

“song and dance.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/song%20and%20dance. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “song and dance,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/song%20and%20dance.