sound and fury
Bluster without substance
Sound and fury refers to intense commotion or passionate expression that ultimately signifies nothing—noise without substance.
The phrase comes from Shakespeare's Macbeth, where life is described as "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." It's used to dismiss dramatic displays as empty: The committee meeting was all sound and fury, with nothing decided.
- noiseUnwanted auditory disturbance
- rageIntense, violent anger
- tumultNoisy, chaotic disturbance
- thunderStorm's acoustic aftermath
- roarLoud, deep animal cry
chaos · tempest · Shakespeare · Macbeth · signifying · nothing · bluster · clamor · bombast · hot air · all talk · uproar · din · storm · wrath · violent · passion · meaningless
- Shakespeare phrasesto be or not to be, et tu Brute, all the world's a stage, out damned spot, friends Romans countrymen
- Literary Phrasesto be or not to be, carpe diem, et tu Brute, call me Ishmael, once upon a time
- MacbethMacbeth, Lady Macbeth, Banquo, Duncan, Macduff
- ShakespeareRomeo, Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello
- catchphrasescatchphrase, why so serious, cowabunga, good grief, yabba dabba doo
sound and furysubstance
Physical material with mass
walk the walk · actions speak louder than words · gravitas · meat and potatoes · the real thing
sound and furysilence
Total lack of sound
stillness · calm · quiet · peace · tranquility
sound and furysignificance
Quality of mattering
substance · depth · import · gravitas · meaningful
sound, fury, sounds, sounded, sounding, soundly, soundless, soundness, unsound