Whence doth the expression "to damn with faint praise" originate and what does it all mean?

The expression comes from Pope’s satirical “Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot” and sums up his view of Joseph Addison, one of the most respected literary critics of the day. According to Pope, Addison’s method is to

“Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer
And, without sneering, teach the rest to sneer;
Willing to wound, and yet afraid to strike,
Just hint a fault, and hesitate dislike.”

It means to give someone a bad name by uttering what appears to be mild approval but will certainly be interpreted differently. Fort example, we don’t usually take “He’s so well-meaning” as a complimentary opinion.

A similar phrase had already been used by William Wycherley in “The Plain Dealer” (“You who scribble, yet hate all who write/And with faint praises one another damn”).