mealy-mouthed

English

Alternative forms

• mealmouthed

Etymology

Possibly from German Mehl im Maule behalten via Martin Luther

Alternative forms

• mealymouthed

Adjective

mealy-mouthed (comparative more mealy-mouthed, superlative most mealy-mouthed)

1. prone to speaking evasively, indirectly, or duplicitously; not forthright
   • (Can we date this quote?), Thoreau, A week on the Concord and Merrimack rivers, page 115

     The surliness with which the woodchopper speaks of his woods, handling them as indifferently as his axe, is better than the mealy-mouthed enthusiasm of the lover of nature.

Related terms

• mealmouth

Translations

not forthright

German: please add this translation if you can