pussyfooting
Being overly cautious
Pussyfooting is moving or acting cautiously, timidly, or evasively—like a cat placing its paws carefully.
Someone who pussyfoots around an issue avoids addressing it directly: Stop pussyfooting and tell me what you really think.
The term often carries impatience with excessive caution or unwillingness to commit.
Pause in uncertainty
- waverHesitate or fluctuate
- vacillateWaver between choices
- ditherNervous inability to choose
- waffleGridded breakfast cake
falter · hem and haw · shilly-shally · stall · procrastinate · irresolute · tentative · ambivalent
Speak vaguely to mislead
- hedgeBoundary of planted shrubs
- sidestepEvade by moving aside
- skirtWaist-hung lower garment
- dodgeAvoid by quick movement
deflect · beat around the bush · tread lightly · circumvent · noncommittal · evasive · vague · cagey
Sensitivity in speech
- delicacyRefined sensitivity or rarity
- finesseSubtle, deft handling
- discretionCareful judgment in speech
- sensitivityResponsiveness to stimuli
careful · gentle · measured · politic · circumspect · considerate · cautious · soft-pedal
hesitate
Pause in uncertainty
waffle · falter · hem and haw · shilly-shally · stall · procrastinate · irresolute · tentative · ambivalent · wishy-washy
tiptoe
Walk on foot-fronts
prowl · pad · steal · sidle · light-footed · stealthy · furtive · catlike · quiet · silent
equivocate
Speak vaguely to mislead
dodge · deflect · beat around the bush · tread lightly · circumvent · noncommittal · evasive · vague · cagey · guarded
tact
Sensitivity in speech
- delicacyRefined sensitivity or rarity
- finesseSubtle, deft handling
- discretionCareful judgment in speech
sensitivity · careful · gentle · measured · politic · circumspect · considerate · cautious · soft-pedal · kid gloves
pussyfootingcutting to the chase
Proceeding to essentials immediately
telling it like it is · getting to the point · calling a spade a spade · speaking one's mind
pussyfootingtaking action
Initiating purposeful effort
committing · taking the plunge · plunging in · barging in · bulldozing
pussyfootingstomping
Treading heavily, forcefully
clomping · tramping · tromping · thundering · galumphing