“Beat around the bush” is one of the most commonidiomsused in the English language today. Unlike some, this phrase is still used regularly in everydayspeech, as well as in writtendialogue. Idioms steadily become overused and then cliche over time, meaning that they are less effective and ...
See also:beat,bush beat around the bush To speak vaguely or euphemistically so as to avoid talking directly about an unpleasant or sensitive topic. Primarily heard in US.Don't beat around the bush—just tell me the truth.Would you please stop beating around the bush? Are you leaving the ...
Synonyms for BEAT AROUND THE BUSH: shake, straddle the fence, hem and haw, weasel, hedge, waffle, duck, equivocate, fudge, tergiversate
Be deliberately ambiguous in order to mislead or withhold information.
The phrase“beat about the bush”(Para. 2, Lines 3-4) most probably means ___.A.to take a walk around the bushB.to focus on the main point of discussionC.to avoid talking about what is importantD.to try to convince someone of something的答案是什么.
beat the rap,Slang.to succeed in evading the penalty for a crime; be acquitted. beat the air / wind,to make repeated futile attempts. beat around / about the bush,to avoid coming to the point; delay in approaching a subject directly. ...
How can I ever repay you ?
The meaning "strike cover to rouse or drive game" (c. 1400) is the source ofbeat around (orabout) the bush(1570s), the metaphoric sense of which has shifted from "make preliminary motions" to "avoid, evade." The nautical sense of "make progress against the wind by means of alternate...
Tobeat the bushes(mid-15c.) is a way to rouse birds so that they fly into the net which others are holding, which originally was the same thing asbeating around the bush(seebeat(v.)). deadbeat(n.) "worthless sponging idler," 1863, American English slang, perhaps originally Civil War ...
Idiomsbeat aroundorabout the bush.Seebush1(def. 14). beat back, to force back; compel to withdraw:to beat back an attacker. beat down: to bring into subjection; subdue. Informal Termsto persuade (a seller) to lower the price of something:His first price was too high, so we tried to...