indirect approach
Not straight on
An indirect approach reaches a goal by going around obstacles rather than through them.
In military strategy, it means attacking where the enemy is weak rather than strong.
More broadly, it describes any method that achieves results through subtlety, suggestion, or misdirection rather than direct confrontation: She took an indirect approach, asking about his weekend before bringing up the missed deadline.
- roundaboutCircular junction for traffic
- beating around the bushAvoiding direct communication
- circuitousIndirect, winding path
- long way aroundIndirect path to destination
- subtleNot immediately obvious
soft sell · sideways · oblique · flanking · end run · detour · hint · implication · suggestion · reading between the lines · tactful · diplomatic · evasive · cunning · strategic · maneuver · backdoor · side door
indirect approachdirect approach
Unsubtle, frontal method
straight line · brute force · direct route · direct path · shortest path
indirect approachfrontal assault
Attack from the front
direct attack · attrition warfare · war of attrition · force majeure
indirect approachbluntness
Frank, unvarnished manner
straight talk · candor · telling it like it is · directness · forthrightness
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