mealy-mouthed
American Heritage Dictionary:
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meal·y-mouthed
(mē'lē-mouTHd', -moutht')
adj.
Unwilling to state facts or opinions simply and directly.
adj.
Unwilling to state facts or opinions simply and directly.
WORD HISTORY It seems fitting that Martin Luther, a man noted for the forthright expression of his ideas, may have had a hand in giving us the contemptuous term we apply to those unwilling to state facts or opinions directly. Mealy-mouthed may come from a saying such as German Mehl im Maule behalten, "to carry meal in the mouth, that is, not to be direct in speech," which occurs in Luther's writings. In English we find the terms mealmouth (1546) and meal-mouthed (1576) recorded around the same time that we find mealymouthed (around 1572). Mealy-mouthed is the only form that survived to describe this trait described by Luther, which not only survives but flourishes in our time.
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mealy-mouthed
Random House Word Menu:
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categories related to 'mealy-mouthed'
- Submissive, Uncertain, or Tentative
- Bad, False, Evil, Insincere, or Dishonest
- Falsehood, Pretense, and Exaggeration - mealy-mouthed: (adj) inclined to use indirect or devious language
Translations:
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Mealy-mouthed
Dansk (Danish)
adj. - forsigtig, spag i mælet
Nederlands (Dutch)
listig, zachtaardig (sprekend)
Français (French)
adj. - doucereux, (fig) mielleux
Deutsch (German)
adj. - unaufrichtig
Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - γαλίφης, μαλαγάνας, μισομίλητος
Português (Portuguese)
adj. - fingido
Русский (Russian)
сладкоречивый
Español (Spanish)
adj. - camandulero, meloso
Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - undanglidande, inställsam, snirklad
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
说话婉转的, 甜言蜜语的, 说话含糊的
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 說話婉轉的, 甜言蜜語的, 說話含糊的
日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 遠回しに言う, 率直でない
العربيه (Arabic)
(صفه) متكتم
עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - לא מדבר ברורות, מתבטא בצורה סתומה
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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