skirting the issue

Meanings

1. 1phraseidiomdisapproving

   avoiding talking directly about a difficult or sensitive subject.

   Grammar: Usually continuous or as a gerund: you are skirting the issue.

   Patterns

   • skirt the issue
   • skirt around the issue

   Stop skirting the issue and tell me what went wrong.

   The spokesperson kept skirting the issue during the interview.

   You are skirting the issue; I asked about money.

2. 2phraseidiomdisapproving

   dealing with minor parts of a problem instead of its main point.

   Grammar: Often with the preposition around: skirting around the issue.

   Patterns

   • skirt around the real issue

   The report skirts the issue of funding.

   Their plan is skirting the issue of safety.

   He spent an hour skirting the issue without a solution.

Common combinations

stop skirting the issue

Please stop skirting the issue and answer.

skirting the issue entirely

The speech skirted the issue entirely.

skirting around the issue

She was skirting around the issue for weeks.

accused of skirting the issue

The minister was accused of skirting the issue.

Synonyms and how they differ

beating around the bush

Beating around the bush is the more common informal idiom for the same avoidance.

dodging the issue

Dodging the issue suggests a more deliberate evasion.

evading

Evading is formal and often used in legal or political contexts.

sidestepping

Sidestepping implies avoiding a problem neatly rather than talking around it.

Opposites

Word family

skirt verb

to go around the edge of, or to avoid

skirt noun

a garment worn from the waist

issue noun

a topic or problem for discussion

evasive adjective

avoiding giving direct answers

Commonly confused: skirting the issue or skirt?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “skirting the issue”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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