"mince one's words" meaning in English

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "minces one's words",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "mincing one's words",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "minced one's words",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "minced one's words",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*",
        "head": "mince one's words"
      },
      "expansion": "mince one's words (third-person singular simple present minces one's words, present participle mincing one's words, simple past and past participle minced one's words)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "mince words"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1922, T. S. Eliot, The Waste Land:",
          "text": "When Lil's husband got demobbed, I said— / I didn't 'mince my words, I said to her myself, ⁠/ Hurry up please its time",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1927, Arthur James Cook, The Nine Days:",
          "text": "Every one of my Committee felt proud of the determined stand of our President, who did not mince his words, but spoke straight and to the point.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2022 November 22, Joseph Los'e, “Dame Naida Glavish doesn’t mince words about Erebus Memorial”, in New Zealand Herald:",
          "text": "Dame Naida Glavish did not mince her words when she addressed the newly elected Waitematā Local Board yesterday about the location of the National Erebus Memorial.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of mince words"
      ],
      "id": "en-mince_one's_words-en-verb-H9IRpRWE",
      "links": [
        [
          "mince words",
          "mince words#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "mince one's words"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "minces one's words",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "mincing one's words",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "minced one's words",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "minced one's words",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*",
        "head": "mince one's words"
      },
      "expansion": "mince one's words (third-person singular simple present minces one's words, present participle mincing one's words, simple past and past participle minced one's words)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "mince words"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English verbs",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1922, T. S. Eliot, The Waste Land:",
          "text": "When Lil's husband got demobbed, I said— / I didn't 'mince my words, I said to her myself, ⁠/ Hurry up please its time",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1927, Arthur James Cook, The Nine Days:",
          "text": "Every one of my Committee felt proud of the determined stand of our President, who did not mince his words, but spoke straight and to the point.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2022 November 22, Joseph Los'e, “Dame Naida Glavish doesn’t mince words about Erebus Memorial”, in New Zealand Herald:",
          "text": "Dame Naida Glavish did not mince her words when she addressed the newly elected Waitematā Local Board yesterday about the location of the National Erebus Memorial.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of mince words"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "mince words",
          "mince words#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "mince one's words"
}