beat around the bush

English

WOTD – 22 October 2007

Alternative forms

beat about the bush

Pronunciation

Audio (AU) (file)

Verb

beat around the bush (third-person singular simple present beats around the bush, present participle beating around the bush, simple past and past participle beaten around the bush)

(idiomatic) To treat a topic, but omit its main points, often intentionally.
(idiomatic) To delay or avoid talking about something difficult or unpleasant.
Just stop beating around the bush and tell me what the problem is!

Synonyms

go around the houses
pussyfoot
prevaricate
ramble
waffle

Antonyms

cut to the chase
get on with it
get to the point

Translations

to treat a topic but omit its main points

Armenian: ջուր ծեծել (hy) (ǰur cecel), յուղ վառել (hy) (yuł vaṙel)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 拐彎抹角 (zh), 拐弯抹角 (zh) (guǎiwānmòjiǎo), 轉彎抹角 (zh), 转弯抹角 (zh) (zhuǎnwānmòjiǎo), 兜圈子 (zh) (dōuquānzi), 繞圈子 (zh), 绕圈子 (zh) (ràoquānzi)
Dutch: rond de pot draaien (circle around the pot), om de hete brei dansen
Finnish: kierrellä (fi), jaaritella (fi), puhua ummet ja lammet
French: tourner autour du pot (fr) (circle around the pot)
German: um den heißen Brei herumreden (de) (talk around the hot porridge)
Hungarian: kerülgeti, mint macska a forró kását (hu), köntörfalaz (hu), mellébeszél (hu)
Italian: menare il can per l'aia, girarci intorno, tergiversare (it), fare giri di parole, andare per le spicce

Kurdish: بڕۆ سەر ئەصلی بابەت‎ (brro ser eصlî babet)
Norwegian: gå som katten rundt den varme grøten (circle like a cat around the warm porridge)
Portuguese: fazer rodeios (pt), usar de rodeios (pt) (to use roundabout conversations)
Russian: ходи́ть вокру́г да о́коло (ru) (xodítʹ vokrúg da ókolo) (walk round and about), тяну́ть рези́ну (ru) (tjanútʹ rezínu) (pull rubber), перелива́ть из пусто́го в поро́жнее (ru) (perelivátʹ iz pustóvo v poróžneje) (empty one empty container into another empty container)
Serbo-Croatian: okolišati (sh), obilaziti kao mačak oko vruće kaše
Spanish: andarse con rodeos, andar con ambages
Tagalog: pasikut-sikot (roundabout), magpaligoy-ligoy, lumigoy-ligoy
Thai: ออกทะเล (ɔ̀ɔk-tá-lee) (to go out to the sea)

to delay or avoid talking about something difficult or unpleasant

Armenian: ջուր ծեծել (hy) (ǰur cecel), յուղ վառել (hy) (yuł vaṙel)
Czech: chodit jako okolo horké kaše (cs)
Dutch: rond de pot draaien (circle around the pot), om de hete brei dansen
Finnish: kiertää kuin kissa kuumaa puuroa, kierrellä (fi)
French: tourner autour du pot (fr) (circle around the pot)
German: um den heißen Brei herumreden (de) (talk around the pot)
Hungarian: köntörfalaz (hu)
Icelandic: tala í kringum, fara í kringum eins og köttur í kringum heitan graut (is)
Italian: menare il can per l'aia
Maori: tītahataha

Norwegian: gå som katten rundt den varme grøten (circle like a cat around the warm porridge)
Polish: owijać w bawełnę (pl) (wrap in cotton)
Portuguese: enrolar (pt), embromar
Russian: ходи́ть вокру́г да о́коло (ru) (xodítʹ vokrúg da ókolo) (walk round and about), тяну́ть рязи́ну (tjanútʹ rjazínu) (pull rubber), перелива́ть из пусто́го в поро́жнее (ru) (perelivátʹ iz pustóvo v poróžneje) (empty one empty container into another empty container)
Spanish: ir por los cerros de Úbeda, andarse por las ramas
Swedish: gå som katten kring het gröt
Tagalog: pasikut-sikot (roundabout)
Thai: ออกทะเล (ɔ̀ɔk-tá-lee) (to go out to the sea)
Vietnamese: vòng vo tam quốc (vi)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

Japanese: ^{(please verify)} 要点に触れないでいりなさい (ようてんにふれないでいりなさい, yōten ni furenai deirinasai)

Korean: ^{(please verify)} 변죽을 울리십시요 (byeonjug-eul ullisipsiyo)