🗓️ Idiom: Beat Around the Bush (v)
💬 Meaning
- To avoid talking directly about a subject.
- To delay or avoid giving a clear answer.
🧠 Example Sentences
- Stop beating around the bush and tell me what you really think.
- The manager beat around the bush instead of answering the question directly.
- We do not have much time, so let’s not beat around the bush.
🏛️ Origin
This idiom comes from medieval hunting in England. Hunters would beat bushes to scare birds into the open, while others caught them. The action of not going directly to the target became a metaphor for avoiding the main point in conversation.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
“Please do not __________ around the bush. Just give me a clear answer.”
Answer
beat
2. Multiple choice:
What does “beat around the bush” mean?
a) To hunt for birds in the forest
b) To avoid speaking directly about something
c) To quickly explain the main point
Answer
b) To avoid speaking directly about something
3. Change the sentence using “beat around the bush”:
He avoided giving a direct answer during the meeting.
Answer
He beat around the bush during the meeting.
ℹ️ Other Useful Pages
📚 Learning Resources
👉 Main Idioms Page
👉 Idioms for Communication
👥 Support Spaces
👉 Student Space
👉 Tutor Toolkit
⭐️ Extras
Rob is a CELTA qualified English teacher with 15 years of international experience. He has a BSc and PGDip from Loughborough and St Andrews universities in the UK. He has taught in Thailand and Saudi Arabia and now works with professionals worldwide.
