song and dance
English
Noun
song and dance (countable and uncountable, plural songs and dances)
- A display of unnecessary excitement or activity.
- An excessively elaborate story or excuse used to justify something.
- 2011 Dec. 2, Ariel Kaminer, "The Ethicist: Caveat Vendor," 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.
- 2011 Dec. 2, Ariel Kaminer, "The Ethicist: Caveat Vendor," New York Times (retrieved 6 April 2015)
- An excessively complex set of instructions.
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see song, and, dance.