lip service

lip service
{n.} Support shown by words only and not by actions; a show of loyalty that is not proven in action. - Usually used with "pay". * /Bv holding elections, communism pays lip service to democracy, but it offers only one candidate per office./ * /Some people pay lip service to education, but don't vote taxes for better schools./

Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.

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  • Lip service — is an idiom meaning minimal compliance only .Lip service may also refer to: * Lip Service (TV series) * Lip Service , a song by Elvis Costello from This Year s Model * Lip Service (game show), a game show aired in the 1990s on MTV * Lip Service …   Wikipedia

  • Lip service — Lip Lip (l[i^]p), n. [OE. lippe, AS. lippa; akin to D. lip, G. lippe, lefze, OHG. lefs, Dan. l[ae]be, Sw. l[ a]pp, L. labium, labrum. Cf. {Labial}.] 1. One of the two fleshy folds which surround the orifice of the mouth in man and many other… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • lip service — something proffered but not performed, 1640s, from LIP (Cf. lip) (n.) + SERVICE (Cf. service) (n.). Earlier in same sense was lip labour (1530s) …   Etymology dictionary

  • lip service — lip .service n pay lip service to sb/sth to say that you support or agree with something without doing anything to prove it ▪ organizations that pay lip service to career development …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • lip service — lip server. insincere expression of friendship, admiration, support, etc.; service by words only: He paid only lip service to the dictator. [1635 45] * * * …   Universalium

  • lip service — When people pay lip service to something, they express their respect, but they don t act on their words, so the respect is hollow and empty …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • lip service — [n] empty talk duplicity, hollow words, insincerity, token agreement, tongue in cheek, unctuousness; concepts 267,542,545 …   New thesaurus

  • lip service — n. insincere expression of respect, loyalty, support, etc …   English World dictionary

  • lip service — noun an expression of agreement that is not supported by real conviction • Syn: ↑hypocrisy • Derivationally related forms: ↑hypocritical (for: ↑hypocrisy) • Hypernyms: ↑pretense, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • Lip Service — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Cinéma Lip Service est une série télévisée produite par la BBC en 2010. Lip Service est une film de 2000 de Gail O Grady et Kari Wuhrer. Musique Lip… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • lip service —    When people pay lip service to something, they express their respect, but they don t act on their words, so the respect is hollow and empty.   (Dorking School Dictionary)    ***    If you pay lip service to an idea or cause, you give verbal… …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

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