lip service

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See also: lipservice

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

First use appears c. 1590, in A Treatise against Witchcraft by Henry Holland. Compare earlier lip-labour.

Pronunciation

Noun

lip service (uncountable)

  1. (idiomatic) Promising but empty talk; words without action or intention.
    The candidate gave lip service to fixing the problems, but it is doubtful that he will do much.
    • 1897, Richard Marsh, The Beetle:
      Don’t madam me, — I can’t bear none of your lip service. I’m a plain-spoken woman, that’s what I am, and I like other people’s tongues to be as plain as mine.
    • 1995, Alanis Morissette (lyrics and music), “Head over Feet”, in Jagged Little Pill:
      Your love is thick, and it swallowed me whole / You're so much braver than I gave you credit for / That's not lip service
    • 2020 November 11, John Eligon, Audra D. S. Burch, “Black Voters Helped Deliver Biden a Presidential Victory. Now What?”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:
      “OK, let’s see if he’s really being honest about this,” Ms. Neloms, 42, who is Black, recalled thinking. “My prayer is that it’s not just lip service.”
  2. (slang, vulgar) Cunnilingus (sometimes also referred to as giving lip).
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:oral sex
    Jack gave Samantha lip service.

Translations

References

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