damn something with faint praise
damn someone with faint praise = damn 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 something with faint praise :
Idioms Index – Previous Page
