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Damning with faint praise is an English idiom for words that effectively condemn by seeming to offer praise which is too moderate or marginal to be considered praise at all.〔Ichikawa, Sanki. (1964). ''The Kenkyusha Dictionary of Current English Idioms,'' pp. 153–154.〕 In other words, this phrase identifies the act of expressing a compliment so feeble that it amounts to no compliment at all, or even implies a kind of condemnation.〔Ammer, Christine. (2001). ( ''The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms,'' p. 153. )〕 ==History of the term== The concept can be found in the work of the Hellenistic sophist and philosopher, Favorinus (c. 110 AD), who observed that faint and half-hearted praise was more harmful than loud and persistent abuse.〔Walsh, William Shepard. (1908). ( ''The International Encyclopedia of Prose and Poetical Quotations from the Literature of the World,'' p. 586 ), citing Aulus Gellius, ''Noctes Atticae.'' xi, 3, 1.〕 The explicit phrasing of the modern English idiomic expression was first published by Alexander Pope in his 1734 poem, "Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot" in ''Prologue to the Satires.''〔Walsh, William Shepard. (1909). ( ''Handy-book of Literary Curiosities,'' p. 211. )〕 ::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)〔Pope, Alexander. (1901) ( ''The Rape of the Lock: An Essay on Man and Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot,'' p. 97; ) n.b., ''see'' line 201 in "Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot."〕 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〔Walsh, William Shepard, ''Handy-book of Literary Curiosities,''( pp. 211–212; n.b., ''see'' Canto vii in "The Purple Island." )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Damning with faint praise」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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