"beat about the bush" meaning in English

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        "1": "<span class=\"cited-source\">“Beating Around The Bush: Idiom Meaning, Origin, and Examples”, in <cite>Know Your Phrase</cite>, 26 February 2019, archived from the original on 18 Jan 2025: “<span class=\"Latn e-quotation cited-passage\" lang=\"en\">But why beat around the bush, instead of hitting it directly? Likely because it was safer to keep distance from the brush.</span>”</span>"
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      "expansion": "",
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    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From medieval English hunting practices. Some men would whack bushes with sticks to scare birds out so that others could hunt them. Beating the bush directly could be dangerous.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "beats about the bush",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "beating about the bush",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "beat about the bush",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "beated about the bush",
      "tags": [
        "nonstandard",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "beaten about the bush",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "beat about the bush",
      "tags": [
        "colloquial",
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "beated about the bush",
      "tags": [
        "nonstandard",
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
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      "args": {
        "1": "beat<,,beat:beated􂀿nonstandard􂁀,beaten:beat􂀿colloquial􂁀:beated􂀿nonstandard􂁀> about the bush"
      },
      "expansion": "beat about the bush (third-person singular simple present beats about the bush, present participle beating about the bush, simple past beat about the bush or (nonstandard) beated about the bush, past participle beaten about the bush or (colloquial) beat about the bush or (nonstandard) beated about the bush)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenations": [
    {
      "parts": [
        "beat a",
        "bout the bush"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "beat around the bush"
        }
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              16,
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          "ref": "1910 November, Jack London, Theft: A Play in Four Acts, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC, Act II, page 107:",
          "text": "There is no use beating about the bush with a man like you. I know that. You are direct, and so am I. You know my position well enough to be assured that I am empowered to treat with you.",
          "type": "quotation"
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              52,
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          "ref": "2020 July 15, Mike Brown talks to Paul Clifton, “Leading London's \"hidden heroes\"”, in Rail, page 42:",
          "text": "\"Meanwhile, we are sitting here starving. Let's not beat about the bush - we are absolutely living hand to mouth now on TfL.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of beat around the bush."
      ],
      "id": "en-beat_about_the_bush-en-verb-S6ac7UJ0",
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          "beat around the bush",
          "beat around the bush#English"
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      ],
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        "alt-of",
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  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "bēt′ ə-bout′ ðə bo͝oʃ"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbiːt əˌbaʊ̯t ðə bʊʃ/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-beat about the bush.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/04/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-beat_about_the_bush.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-beat_about_the_bush.wav.mp3",
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    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbit əˌbaʊ̯t ðə bʊʃ/",
      "tags": [
        "Canada",
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbiːt əˌbæɔ̯t ðə bʊʃ/",
      "tags": [
        "General-Australian"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbiːt əˌbæʊ̯t ðə bʊʃ/",
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbit əˌbʌʊ̯t ðə bʉʃ/",
      "tags": [
        "Scotland"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbiːʈ aˌbawʈ ðe bʊʃ/",
      "tags": [
        "India"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "beat about the bush"
}

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      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "ref"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From medieval English hunting practices. Some men would whack bushes with sticks to scare birds out so that others could hunt them. Beating the bush directly could be dangerous.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "beats about the bush",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "beating about the bush",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "beat about the bush",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "beated about the bush",
      "tags": [
        "nonstandard",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "beaten about the bush",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "beat about the bush",
      "tags": [
        "colloquial",
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "beated about the bush",
      "tags": [
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      },
      "expansion": "beat about the bush (third-person singular simple present beats about the bush, present participle beating about the bush, simple past beat about the bush or (nonstandard) beated about the bush, past participle beaten about the bush or (colloquial) beat about the bush or (nonstandard) beated about the bush)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenations": [
    {
      "parts": [
        "beat a",
        "bout the bush"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
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          "word": "beat around the bush"
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          "ref": "1910 November, Jack London, Theft: A Play in Four Acts, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC, Act II, page 107:",
          "text": "There is no use beating about the bush with a man like you. I know that. You are direct, and so am I. You know my position well enough to be assured that I am empowered to treat with you.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              52,
              71
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2020 July 15, Mike Brown talks to Paul Clifton, “Leading London's \"hidden heroes\"”, in Rail, page 42:",
          "text": "\"Meanwhile, we are sitting here starving. Let's not beat about the bush - we are absolutely living hand to mouth now on TfL.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of beat around the bush."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "beat around the bush",
          "beat around the bush#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
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    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "bēt′ ə-bout′ ðə bo͝oʃ"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbiːt əˌbaʊ̯t ðə bʊʃ/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
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      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-beat about the bush.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/04/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-beat_about_the_bush.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-beat_about_the_bush.wav.mp3",
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    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbit əˌbaʊ̯t ðə bʊʃ/",
      "tags": [
        "Canada",
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbiːt əˌbæɔ̯t ðə bʊʃ/",
      "tags": [
        "General-Australian"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbiːt əˌbæʊ̯t ðə bʊʃ/",
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbit əˌbʌʊ̯t ðə bʉʃ/",
      "tags": [
        "Scotland"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbiːʈ aˌbawʈ ðe bʊʃ/",
      "tags": [
        "India"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "beat about the bush"
}