Meaning & use
beat around the bush
To avoid talking about something directly, usually because it is unpleasant or uncomfortable to discuss.
See it in a sentence
Stop beating around the bush and tell me what really happened last night.
Instead of beating around the bush, the manager gave direct feedback on the report.
A note on using this word
The idiom likely comes from hunting, where beaters struck bushes to flush out game rather than approaching it directly.
Words with a similar meaning
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