Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

song and dance

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.76 in modern English

Syllables: song and -dance
IPA

17

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A display of unnecessary excitement or activity.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

An excessively elaborate story or excuse used to justify something.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

An excessively complex set of instructions.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see song, and, dance.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"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."

Usage

Inflected Forms

songs and dances (plural)

Synonyms

fuss palaver ado argy-bargy bangarang bobbery brouhaha bunfight bustle bust-up chaos ferment

Questions

What does song and dance mean?: A display of unnecessary excitement or activity.

How to pronounce song and dance

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “song and dance”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “song and dance”.
Repeat and practice — Say “song and dance” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.