damn someone with faint praise






damn someone with faint praise = something with faint praise

praise someone or something so unenthusiastically as to imply condemnation

This expression comes from the poet Alexander Pope's EPISTLE TO DR ARBUTHNOT (1735) : Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer. And without sneering, teach the rest to sneer.

1994 - Canadian Defence Quarterly - True there is the occasional condescending nod to those who served, but this frequently amounts to damning with faint praise.


RELATED IDIOMS :


not give a damn

not care at all – informal

1998 - Penelope Lively – Spiderweb - The boys knew that the teachers didn't like them and they didn't give a damn.



not be worth a damn

have no value or validity at all - informal




damn someone with faint praise :






damn someone with faint praise To HOME PAGE


Idioms Index – Previous Page




Related Links : damn someone with faint praise