pussyfoot
To move silently, stealthily, or furtivelyTo move silently, stealthily, or furtively.
» He is pussyfooting around on our marriage.
Tatoeba contributors · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
3 senses(intransitive)To move silently, stealthily, or furtively.
trippeln, auf Zehenspitzen gehen, schleichen
to go stealthily or furtively
(intransitive)To act timidly or cautiously.
um den heißen Brei schleichen, leisetreten
(intransitive)To use euphemistic language or circumlocution.
um den heißen Brei herumreden
Examples
3 sentencesHe is pussyfooting around on our marriage.
I wish she wouldn't pussyfoot about it and just say what she means.
Don't pussyfoot around the issue; do we have a problem, or don't we?
ruНе ходите вокруг да около; у нас проблемы или как? — marafon
deReden Sie nicht um den heißen Brei herum: Haben wir ein Problem oder nicht? — Hans_Adler
Translations
1 languagesBy meaning 3
Origin
From pussy (“feline”) + foot; because of the light and careful tread of cats.From pussy (“feline”) + foot; because of the light and careful tread of cats.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
pussyfoots, pussyfooting, pussyfooted, pussyfooted| Base form | pussyfoot · to pussyfoot |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | pussyfoots |
| Present participle | pussyfooting |
| Past simple | pussyfooted |
| Past participle | pussyfooted |
regular · Lesson
Synonyms
4 synonymsWord family
2 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.