dances of the seven veils

Noun

dance of the seven veils (plural dances of the seven veils)

1. (idiomatic) A striptease performance.
   • And as for the next room, which was for the dances of the ‘Seven Veils’, I could not wait to see the mind-blowing performance! I joined the men in the queue and jostled my way into the room, seating myself on one of the rickety chairs.2010, Ron S. King, The Dreams of Neptune, →ISBN, page 143

   Synonyms:

   fan dance

2. (broadly, idiomatic) The incremental disclosure of tantalizing bits of information.
   • "Testing the waters" is a veil for what candidates do in the years when it's too unseemly to be seen actually running for president. . . . But this veil is dropped when candidate and handlers believe the coyness has begun to cloy. And then the candidate's dance of the seven veils has begun.2006 December 5, Ron Elving, “Declaring for President is a Dance of Seven Veils”, in National Public Radio, US, retrieved 27 Sep 2015

   Synonyms:

   fan dance