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Synonyms

beat around the bush

Cultural  

  1. To avoid getting to the point of an issue: “Your worries have nothing to do with the new proposal. Stop beating around the bush, and cast your vote!”

beat around the bush Idioms  

  1. 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.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Beat around the bush and try to build a background, or come out with it at once and fill in the details afterward?

From The Edge of the Knife by Piper, H. Beam

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.