mince matters

Idioms  

1. Also, mince words. Moderate or restrain one's language to be polite or avoid giving offense. Today these phrases are nearly always put negatively, as in Not to mince matters, I feel he should resign, or Don't mince words—say what you mean. The usage dates from the mid-1500s and transfers cutting something such as meat into small pieces to minimizing the harsh impact of words.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mince matters

Now I was very severely brought up by my father, and my mother being—well, it's no use to mince matters as they say—my mother really was a saint.

From Sinister Street, vol. 2 by Compton MacKenzie

And that hall porter didn't mince matters either.

From The Heart of a Woman by Emmuska Orczy, Baroness Orczy

The men who made this brave report did not mince matters.

From Following the Color Line an account of Negro citizenship in the American democracy by David Grayson

It did not mince matters as to the dangers she was running.

From The Pastor's Wife by Elizabeth von Arnim

It seems that when he was angry the Maréchal didn't mince matters, and used most emphatic expressions.

From Letters of a Diplomat's Wife 1883-1900 by Mary King Waddington