Lip service

Idiomatic Phrase
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Lip service denotes insincere verbal support without genuine commitment or action; poetically, it critiques hypocrisy, empty rhetoric, or performative allyship, exposing gaps between words and deeds in social or political discourse.

Detailed Definition
Lip service means verbal support, praise, or agreement given without sincere commitment or meaningful action. In poetry, the idiom is valuable for exposing hypocrisy in politics, religion, love, friendship, or public morality. The image confines devotion to the lips, separating speech from heart, hands, and deeds. A poet may use it to criticise empty vows, ceremonial apologies, or fashionable sympathy. It encourages students to notice the ethical gap between language as performance and language as lived responsibility.
Example
Example in poetry:
A satire might accuse the court of paying lip service to justice while selling verdicts in the dark; In a religious poem, lip service contrasts with genuine devotion of the heart; The phrase means insincere words without real action; A poet can use it to expose hypocrisy.
Additional Notes
Lip service means insincere support expressed in words but not actions. In poetry, it is useful for political promises, religious hypocrisy, social justice rhetoric, false love, or public mourning. The phrase locates falseness at the mouth: speech performs virtue while the body does nothing. Students should compare it with empty words and hot air, noting that lip service often involves pretended loyalty to a value one neglects.
Also Known As
insincere support
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