Damning with faint praise

Damning with faint praise is an English idiom, expressing oxymoronically that half-hearted or insincere praise may act as oblique criticism or condemnation.^[1][2] In simpler terms, praise is given, but only given as high as mediocrity, which may be interpreted as passive-aggressive.

History of the term

The concept can be found in the work of the Hellenistic sophist and philosopher Favorinus (c. 110 CE) who observed that faint and half-hearted praise was more harmful than loud and persistent abuse.^[3]

The explicit phrasing of the modern English idiomatic expression was first published by Alexander Pope in his 1734 poem, "Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot" in Prologue to the Satires.^[4]

Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer,

And without sneering, teach the rest to sneer;

Willing to wound, and yet afraid to strike,

Just hint a fault, and hesitate dislike.

— "Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot" by Alexander Pope (1688–1744)^[5]

According to William Shepard Walsh, "There is a faint anticipation in William Wycherley's Double Dealer, "and libels everybody with dull praise," but a closer parallel is in Phineas Fletcher:

When needs he must, yet faintly then he praises,

Somewhat the deed, much more the means he raises:

So marreth what he makes, and praising most, dispraises.

— "The Purple Island" by Phineas Fletcher^[6]

The inversion "praising with faint damns" is more modern,^[7] though it goes as far back as 1888.^[8]

The concept was widely used in literature in the eighteenth century, for example in Tobias Smollett's Roderick Random: "I impart some of mine to her – am mortified at her faint praise".

Examples

• 1917, Lucy Maud Montgomery, The Alpine Path: The Story of My Career:

"They wrote that 'Our readers report that they find some merit in your story, but not enough to warrant its acceptance'."

• 1975, Paul Grice, giving an example of conversational implicature:

A professor is writing a testimonial about a pupil who is a candidate for a philosophy job, and his letter reads as follows: "Dear Sir, Mr. X's command of English is excellent, and his attendance at tutorials has been regular. Yours, etc."^[9]

• 2009, interview with Encyclopædia Britannica president Jorge Cauz in the Sydney Morning Herald:

"… [Cauz] said a big problem was that many users considered Wikipedia to be 'fine' or 'good enough'."^[10]

• 2022, an internet meme that began with ironically praising the film Morbius as simply "one of the movies of all time", without any adjective. The quote would serve as a template for any popular culture work judged to be mediocre.^{[citation needed]} See Morbius (film) § Internet memes for additional detail on ironic reception of the film.
• 1940s Winston Churchill talking about Clement Attlee "a modest man with lots to be modest about"

See also

• Backhanded compliment
• Polite fiction
• Sarcasm