hand wringing

noun

Definitions

  1. The repeated clasping or squeezing of the hands as a symptom of distress.

    • Whisperings filled the corridors with unearthly sounds — the hand-wringing and breast-beating of the elder sisters — the sighs and sobs of the younger.
  2. A feigned exhibition of distress, usually with implied inaction or vacillating in the…

    A feigned exhibition of distress, usually with implied inaction or vacillating in the face of a dilemma or crisis.

    • On the one hand, there is the danger of ineffectual and often counterproductive conservative handwringing over the crisis.
    • As noted, the confusion and hand wringing about who should do what mostly flows from a failure to clearly think through what an epidemic is and what will be demanded in response.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for hand wringing. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA