Idiom
false note
Meaning
Of a remark or narrative, an indication (as discerned by the listener or reader) of untruth, insincerity, or inconsistency.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“His apology sounded like a false note.”
“The politician tried to sound sincere, but his promise to lower taxes struck a false note with the crowd.”
“Throughout the entire memoir, the author’s sudden shift to a tone of humble regret struck a false note, suggesting he was merely trying to manipulate the reader’s sympathy.”
Examples
simple
“His apology sounded like a false note.”
contextual
“The politician tried to sound sincere, but his promise to lower taxes struck a false note with the crowd.”
complex
“Throughout the entire memoir, the author’s sudden shift to a tone of humble regret struck a false note, suggesting he was merely trying to manipulate the reader’s sympathy.”
Key words
Related idioms
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