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View synonyms for pussyfoot

pussyfoot

[ poos-ee-foot ]

verb (used without object)

  1. to go or move in a stealthy or cautious manner.
  2. to act cautiously or timidly, as if afraid to commit oneself on a point at issue.

    Synonyms: straddle, sidestep, dodge, hedge



noun

, plural puss·y·foots.
  1. a person with a catlike, or soft and stealthy, tread.
  2. Chiefly British. a teetotaler or prohibitionist.

pussyfoot

/ ˈpʊsɪˌfʊt /

verb

  1. to move about stealthily or warily like a cat
  2. to avoid committing oneself
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


noun

  1. a person who pussyfoots
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of pussyfoot1

An Americanism dating back to 1890–95; pussy 1 + foot
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Example Sentences

Mr. Pussyfoot Johnson has told a Glasgow audience that he is no kill-joy, but smokes cigars.

He had been called many things—loan-shark, skinflint, tightwad, pussyfoot—but he had never before been called a flirt.

It appears that the man called the lamp-post "Pussyfoot," and the latter promptly knocked him down.

Converting a pussyfoot into liquid measure with caustic soda water.

But that is another story, and might bring Mr. Pussyfoot Johnson on the scene before his time.

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