Idiom Topics

  • The Ubiquitous Essentials

    10
    • On the other hand
    • At the end of the day
    • In the long run
    • Bear in mind
    • A piece of cake
    • Keep an eye on
    • Out of the blue
    • Rule of thumb
    • So far, so good
    • Behind the scenes

  • Everyday Casual & Workplace

    10
    • Under the weather
    • Call it a day
    • Up in the air
    • Wrap your head around
    • Break the ice
    • Get out of hand
    • Go the extra mile
    • Touch base
    • Hit the nail on the head
    • Cut corners

  • Problem Solving & Interaction

    10
    • See eye to eye
    • Read between the lines
    • Take it with a grain of salt
    • Get the hang of it
    • Give the benefit of the doubt
    • The elephant in the room
    • Hit the ground running
    • Play it by ear
    • Bite the bullet
    • Sit on the fence

  • Decisions & Perspectives

    9
    • Jump on the bandwagon
    • Cross that bridge when we come to it
    • The best of both worlds
    • A blessing in disguise
    • Once in a blue moon
    • Pull someone's leg
    • Miss the boat
    • Better late than never
    • Get your act together

  • Colorful & Traditional

    10
    • Spill the beans
    • Let the cat out of the bag
    • Bite off more than you can chew
    • Go back to the drawing board
    • Barking up the wrong tree
    • Actions speak louder than words
    • A penny for your thoughts
    • Break a leg
    • Hit the sack
    • Beat around the bush

  • Academic & Formal Discourse

    10
    • Bear fruit
    • Pave the way
    • Shed light on
    • Go hand in hand
    • Tip the scales
    • Fly in the face of
    • Bring to the table
    • Turn a blind eye
    • Draw a blank
    • State of the art

  • Emotions & Reactions

    10
    • Over the moon
    • Down in the dumps
    • On edge
    • Blow off steam
    • Keep your cool
    • Drive someone up the wall
    • On cloud nine
    • A weight off my shoulders
    • At your wits' end
    • Thrilled to bits

  • Effort, Success, & Failure

    10
    • Start from scratch
    • Pass with flying colors
    • Fall flat
    • Go down the drain
    • Keep your head above water
    • Pay off
    • Throw in the towel
    • Make headway
    • Uphill battle
    • Back to square one

  • Time, Speed, & Urgency

    10
    • Beat the clock
    • At the eleventh hour
    • Around the clock
    • In the nick of time
    • Drag your feet
    • Time flies
    • Make up for lost time
    • Call time on
    • Ahead of the curve
    • On the spur of the moment

  • Resources, Money, & Value

    10
    • Make ends meet
    • Foot the bill
    • Break the bank
    • Tighten your belt
    • Bang for your buck
    • A drop in the ocean
    • Make a killing
    • On a shoestring budget
    • Worth your weight in gold
    • Pay top dollar

Beat around the bush

Learn the meaning, origin, and usage of the idiom "Beat around the bush" with five example sentences across different contexts. This idiom is part of ourColorful & Traditional collection for PTE and IELTS preparation.

Colorful & Traditional

Beat around the bush

Beat around the bush
To avoid speaking directly about a difficult, important, or uncomfortable topic by talking about unrelated things instead.
History & Origin

The idiom originates from medieval boar and bird hunting practices in Europe, where hunters hired assistants called 'beaters' to flush out prey. These beaters would strike the surrounding ground and the edges of a bush rather than hitting it directly to avoid putting themselves in immediate danger from a nesting animal. Over time, the phrase shifted from a literal hunting tactic to a metaphor for avoiding the main point of a conversation out of caution or hesitation.

Examples
Workplace Email

Please stop beating around the bush and send me the final budget figures by noon today.

Casual Conversation

Quit beating around the bush, Sarah—do you want to go to the concert with me or not?

Academic Writing

The committee chose to beat around the bush rather than confront the ethical violations directly in their report.

News/Media

During the intense live television interview, the prime minister continued to beat around the bush instead of answering the journalist's direct question about tax hikes.

Formal Speech

We cannot afford to beat around the bush anymore; we must address our dropping retention rates immediately.

Quiz
Which of the following sentences uses the idiom correctly?

A. Instead of telling me why I was fired, my manager just beat around the bush for twenty minutes about the company's financial struggles.

B. The gardener spent the afternoon beating around the bush to make the backyard look more beautiful before the party.

C. If you want to win the marathon, you need to beat around the bush and run faster than everyone else.

D. I didn't understand the complex math lesson, so I decided to beat around the bush until I found the right answer.