faint praise
4
7.4
- noun
- /feɪnt preɪz/
:
elogio tibio
- The handful of other reviewers who mentioned the portrait merely damned it with faint praise.
- damn with faint praise
I really do think that faint praise is a deep problem.
- I really do think that faint praise is a deep problem.
Examples
-
Steven F. Hayward, of the American Enterprise Institute, delivered faint praise.
Academic text (2006) -
(Yes, this might be damning with faint praise—that's the other side of the coin.)
Blog text (1) -
"Education experts have faint praise for his proposals while he was governor.
Blog text (2) -
When the administration bill finally passed, Johnson damned it with faint praise as "a mighty weak start in a good direction."
Academic text (2007) -
Although it may be doing better than most other countries, that is damning it with faint praise.
Blog text (15) -
And it's better that than, you know, damned by faint praise or indifference.
-
Even the administration's defenders have damned it with faint praise.
Academic text (2011) -
If this is taken as anything other than damning with faint praise, then my meaning is misunderstood.
Blog text (15) -
PS, Chelle, to call me better than you would be to damn me with faint praise.
Blog text (33) -
His comments about the project were just faint praise, lacking the enthusiasm needed to motivate the team.
Synonyms
A small criticism that sounds like praise
How Positive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'praise that is weak or unenthusiastic' is directly and predictably derived from combining 'faint' (very slight) with 'praise' (approval). This adjective+noun composition follows normal semantic combination and is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words should be able to infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The phrase faint praise likely comes from faint meaning 'not very strong', like a quiet clap or a small, weak smile. So, when someone's praise is faint, it feels like little real approval and can even suggest criticism.