beat around the bush
Meaning: to avoid addressing the main point; to speak indirectly.
Language: English
Literally: to beat around a bush
Category: Daily Life
Origin: From bird hunting, and the preposition carries the whole point. Beaters were employed to drive game birds out of cover and toward the waiting nets or guns by striking the undergrowth, but striking directly into a bush was unwise — it risked injuring the birds, ruining the drive, or disturbing something larger and less welcome — so the beaters worked around the edges instead, approaching the target indirectly. The phrase is old: it appears in the English romance Generydes around 1440, already used figuratively, which makes it one of the longest-serving idioms in ordinary use. The original sense was closer to cautious preliminary work than to evasion; the modern impatience with someone who beats around the bush is a later hardening of it.
Equivalents in other languages
- German: Um den heißen Brei herumreden — literally: To talk around the hot porridge
- French: Tourner autour du pot — literally: To turn around the pot
- Thai: ชักแม่น้ำทั้งห้า — literally: To invoke all five rivers
More idioms — Daily Life
- pull your punches — to hold back; to be less forceful than you could be.
- stick your oar in — to interfere in someone else's affairs; to meddle.
- run rings around someone — to easily surpass someone; to be far superior in ability.
- get the ball rolling — to start something; to initiate a process.
- as tough as old boots — very strong; enduring; difficult to break.
- head honcho — the person in charge; the leader.
More English idioms
- give someone the cold shoulder — to deliberately treat someone with indifference or ignore them.
- let the cat out of the bag — to reveal a secret inadvertently.
- spill the tea — to reveal gossip or scandalous information.
- go belly up — to fail completely; to go bankrupt.
- wear your heart on your sleeve — to display emotions openly; to be transparent about feelings.
- mad as a box of frogs — completely crazy; chaotic and unpredictable.
From our compliments & insults
- Eres un aguafiestas — You're a killjoy — you pour cold water on everyone's fun the moment you arrive.
- ¡Qué cara más dura! — You've got incredible nerve and cheek — the audacity is almost impressive.
- Es un/una pesado/a — A dreadful bore — their company feels like carrying extra weight.