mealy-mouthed
See also: mealymouthed
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Possibly from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] German Mehl im Maule behalten via Martin Luther
Adjective
mealy-mouthed (comparative more mealy-mouthed, superlative most mealy-mouthed)
- prone to speaking evasively, indirectly, or duplicitously; not forthright
- 1849, 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.
- 1849, Thoreau, A week on the Concord and Merrimack rivers, page 115
Related terms
Translations
not forthright
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