protest too much
Excessive defensive insistence
To protest too much is to deny something so vehemently or frequently that the denial itself becomes suspicious.
The phrase comes from Shakespeare's Hamlet, where Queen Gertrude says "The lady doth protest too much, methinks" about an overly emphatic character.
When someone protests too much, their excessive defensiveness suggests they're hiding the very thing they deny: He kept insisting he wasn't jealous, but methinks he doth protest too much.
- beg to differPolitely express disagreement
- cry foulAllege improper conduct
- reaction formationMasking impulses with opposites
- kick up a fussComplain noisily and dramatically
- put up a fightOffer active opposition
squirm · denial · rationalization · projection · suspicion · insistence · repression · hyperbole · credibility · methinks · overcompensation · nervous laughter · self-deception · cover story · saving face · guilty conscience · skepticism · sweat
protest too muchadmission
Entry or confession
own up to · confess · take it on the chin · come clean · fess up
protest too muchkeep one's cool
Maintain emotional control
underreact · play it cool · brush off · stay calm · shrug it off
protest, protests, protested, protesting, protester, protesters, protestation, protestations, much