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

Every song and dance on Dancing With the Stars season 33 Many fans thought the low score was blatantly racist, and Parks alluded to as much in her post-show interviews. —Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 16 Oct. 2024

Though the movie has been called as a musical, Phillips has said that categorization isn’t entirely accurate, though the story features several song and dance numbers. —Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 1 Oct. 2024

There are countless song and dance compilations of budots remixes on the internet, and budots Christmas remixes can be heard at holiday parties across the country. —Harmeet Kaur, CNN, 4 Aug. 2024

And yet, Jay-Z stood on that stage, the same one that continues to disregard rappers and R&B artists, consistently consigning them to the genre categories instead of awarding them the overall best, most prestigious Grammys, and did the song and dance. —Kathleen Newman-Bremang, refinery29.com, 5 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1613, in the meaning defined at sense 1