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Mealy-mouthed or Mealymouthed

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(pronounced mee-lee-mowthd with the "th" as in the word "the," or mee-lee-mowtht with the "th" pronounced as in the word "thin")  adjective

Definition

avoiding the use of simple and direct language; afraid to state facts or express opinions candidly and straightforwardly; shifty or devious.

Main Example

• Despite the spate of mass shootings in recent weeks, each involving an angry male using an assault weapon to mow down several people--killing police officers in some incidents--there is not a peep from over 99% of the lawmakers in Washington, so intimidated are they by the gun lobby. And as for the handful who have dared to speak out on the issue, their calls for renewing the long expired ban on assault weapons are mealy-mouthed at best.

Workplace Examples

• I just got off the phone with Hank who, as you know, was at the work site when the accident occurred. Like the others, he too is giving me a wishy-washy, mealy-mouthed account of what led to the tragedy.
• Before I begin my presentation, let me say this: You all know that I am not a mealy-mouthed guy. So, at the risk of annoying some in the audience, I'm going to speak plainly and succinctly.

Other Examples

• a colleague saying: "Everybody thinks the presentation by Nina, our new hire, was extraordinary--that is, everybody except Courtney, who was pretty grudging and mealy-mouthed in her praise. Maybe because Courtney is our star presenter, she's afraid to admit that somebody else is nearly as good as her."
• a newspaper critic whose reviews of the city's arts scene are incisive, tough, and hard-hitting--in short, anything but mealy-mouthed
• as New York's attorney general, Eliot Spitzer exposing a Wall Street culture in which equity analysts, riven by conflicts of interest, were afraid to put a "sell" on even the most unpromising stocks and so, in their mealy-mouthedness, rated even the duds as "holds"
• political candidates being mealy-mouthed regarding some of their stands so as not to offend key constituencies
• during the Cold War, leaders of both superpowers being extremely mealy-mouthed in their criticism of war crimes by leaders in their respective client states in Africa, Asia, and Latin America

© 2009 V.J. Singal
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