beat around the bush
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Related to beat around the bush: ring hollow
beat around the bush
To speak vaguely or euphemistically so as to avoid talking directly about an unpleasant or sensitive topic. Primarily heard in US. Don't beat around the bush—just tell me the truth. Would you pleast stop beating around the bush? Are you leaving the company or not?
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
beat around the bush
and beat about the bushFig. to avoid answering a question; to stall; to waste time. Stop beating around the bush and answer my question. Let's stop beating about the bush and discuss this matter.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
beat around the bush
Also, beat about the bush. Approach indirectly, in a roundabout way, or too cautiously. For example, Stop beating around the bush-get to the point. This term, first recorded in 1572, originally may have alluded to beating the bushes for game.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
beat around the bush
To speak evasively or misleadingly, or to stall or waste time. To flush pheasants and other birds so they could be shot, British gamekeepers hired beaters who would swing sticks at likely places where the birds might be lurking. Not to go directly to such foliage but to work around it instead gave the impression of wasting time or not trying very hard to raise the birds; hence, beating around the bush.
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price Copyright © 2011 by Steven D. Price