pussyfoot
- to go or move in a stealthy or cautious manner.
- to act cautiously or timidly, as if afraid to commit oneself on a point at issue.
- a person with a catlike, or soft and stealthy, tread.
- Chiefly British. a teetotaler or prohibitionist.
Origin of pussyfoot
Synonyms for pussyfoot
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words for pussyfoot
dodge, skulk, tergiversate, shuffle, glide, steal, avoid, sidestep, lurk, prowl, evade, sneak, slink, slide, slip, equivocate, hedge, tiptoe, skirt, prevaricateExamples from the Web for pussyfoot
Historical Examples of pussyfoot
Converting a pussyfoot into liquid measure with caustic soda water.
The NurserymatographA Lawyer
Call him a Pussyfoot as well; you cannot shake him from his pinnacle.
Your king of Kusiak has to learn some time that everybody isn't going to sidestep him and pussyfoot when he's around.
The Yukon TrailWilliam MacLeod Raine
It was to have one church, to be used by the various denominations, and to be what is now called “Pussyfoot.”
Fifty-One Years of Victorian LifeMargaret Elizabeth Leigh Child-Villiers, Countess of Jersey
Are Mr. Volstead or Mr. Pussyfoot Johnson satisfied with the present condition of things in their country?
My Impresssions of AmericaMargot Asquith
pussyfoot
- to move about stealthily or warily like a cat
- to avoid committing oneself
- a person who pussyfoots
Word Origin and History for pussyfoot
also pussy-foot, 1903, "tread softly," from pussy (n.1) + foot (n.). As a noun from 1911, "a detective," American English, from the nickname of U.S. government Indian Affairs agent W.E. Johnson (1862-1945), in charge of suppressing liquor traffic on Indian reservations in Oklahoma, who was noted for his stealthy tactics. Related: Pussyfooting; pussy-footed (1893).