beat about the bush

== English == === Etymology === From medieval English hunting practices. Some men would whack bushes with sticks to scare birds out so that others could hunt them. Beating the bush directly could be dangerous. === Pronunciation === enPR: bēt′ ə-bout′ ðə bo͝oʃ (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈbiːt əˌbaʊ̯t ðə bʊʃ/ (General American, Canada) IPA(key): /ˈbit əˌbaʊ̯t ðə bʊʃ/ (General Australian) IPA(key): /ˈbiːt əˌbæɔ̯t ðə bʊʃ/ (New Zealand) IPA(key): /ˈbiːt əˌbæʊ̯t ðə bʊʃ/ (Scotland) IPA(key): /ˈbit əˌbʌʊ̯t ðə bʉʃ/ (India) IPA(key): /ˈbiːʈ aˌbawʈ ðe bʊʃ/ Hyphenation: beat a‧bout the bush === Verb === beat about the bush (third-person singular simple present beats about the bush, present participle beating about the bush, simple past beat about the bush or (nonstandard) beated about the bush, past participle beaten about the bush or (colloquial) beat about the bush or (nonstandard) beated about the bush) Alternative form of beat around the bush. === References === === Further reading === “beat about the bush”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.