Eric Miller wrote:

"Russell Kent" wrote in message
...
Eric Miller wrote:
I think that's called "damning with faint praise" =D

N.B. the above should read "feint praise"

feint:
(n.) 1. a false show; sham 2. a pretended blow or attack intended to
take the opponent off his guard, as in boxing or warfare
(vi., vt.) 1. to delivery such a blow or attack

This message is intended to educate, not mock or degrade.

Russell Kent

The correct expression and spelling is "faint praise"; the praise isn't
false (a feint) it's weak (faint).
Notice that faint is an adjective while feint is not.

http://www.cuyamaca.net/bruce.thomps...aintpraise.asp
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=faint

Interesting. I'm now equally uncertain as to which is the proper phrase. I
can see where one might use "faint (weak) praise" or "feint (false or
deceptive) praise". A brief Google search failed to turn up a definitive
page. Numerous usages exist for both forms.

Notice that faint is an adjective while feint is not.

Irrelevant. Red is a noun. What part of speech does "red" play in the phrase
"roll out the red carpet"? It's an adjective, or more properly an adjectival
noun. So "feint" would be functioning as an adjectival noun for "praise".

As I am uncertain which form is the proper one, I retract my earlier
correction.

Russell Kent