mealy-mouthed en · ADJ
Etymology
Possibly from German Mehl im Maule behalten, via Martin Luther
Meanings
-
Prone to speaking evasively, indirectly, or duplicitously; not forthright.
The editors engage in mealy-mouthed apologetics, setting up Orthodox Jews as agents of gentrification, yet they fail to note that it is not white hipsters being beaten but longtime residents of Williamsburg and Crown Heights.
2020, Miram Gloger, “Letters to the Editor: Envisioning Solidarity”, in Jewish Currents: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:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more mealy-mouthed | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| meal-mouthed | alternative | lexicographic | |
| most mealy-mouthed | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| mealymouthed | alternative | lexicographic | |
| mealmouthed | alternative | lexicographic |
Relateds
Translations (12)
ru двули́чный (not forthright) · nl huichelachtig (not forthright) · ru укло́нчивый (not forthright) · de mit mehligem Mund (not forthright) · hu köntörfalazó (not forthright) · fr hypocrite (not forthright) · ru виля́ющий (not forthright) · de sich windend (not forthright) · de gewunden (not forthright) · bg неискрен (not forthright) · de ausweichend (not forthright) · ru неи́скренний (not forthright)