have a hollow ring
To seem or sound false, insincere, inauthentic, or deceitful. I personally think that their reasoning has a hollow ring to it. The actor's vacuous, overblown performance is sure to have a hollow ring for anyone who grew up in that part of the country. Her apology totally had a hollow ring to me. Come on, she's not sorry about what she did, she's just sorry she got caught!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.