pussyfoot (around)
verb (pussyfooter - noun)

- to avoid making a decision or expressing an opinion because you are uncertain or frightened about doing so

- to refrain from committing oneself

- to tread or move warily or stealthily

Cambridge Dictionary / Merriam-Webster

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ORIGIN

"Pussyfoot" is American in origin and dates back to at least 1893. It means a delicate, soft step and comes from the imagery of a cat's careful tread.

The verb "to pussyfoot" is to proceed with extreme caution — it is often used to criticise someone who talks and talks without getting to the point.

You'll often see the preposition "around" added to this verb, as in: "Let's not pussyfoot around, tell them exactly what we want."

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THE PERILS OF PUSSYFOOTING

- "He who hesitates is lost." (Proverb)

- "Indecision is often worse than the wrong action." (Henry Ford)

- "To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence." (Mark Twain)

- "The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one." (Elbert Hubbard)

- "Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking." (William Butler Yeats)

- "Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

- "Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." (Will Rogers)

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SYNONYMS

- to act or answer in an equivocal or non-committal way

avoid committing oneself (making a decision, the issue), be ambiguous (noncommittal), beat about (around) the bush, be evasive, be indecisive (non-committal, vague), blather, cloud/dodge/duck/dance around an issue (the question), equivocate, evade (the issue), flannel, fudge (the issue), garble, give the runaround, hem (hum) and haw,  mince matters (words), play for time, prevaricate, PUSSYFOOT (AROUND), ramble, runaround, shilly-shally, shirk, sidestep (the issue), sit on the fence, skirt the issue, stall for time, stonewall, straddle an issue (the fence), temporize, vacillate, waffle, waver

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“The art of negotiation requires one to master the delicate balance between PUSSYFOOTING AROUND around and asserting one's position.”

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THANKS again to Gloria for suggesting today’s phrase

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