tiptoes around
Delicately avoids addressing
To tiptoe around something is to avoid addressing it directly, treating a subject with excessive caution or delicacy: Everyone tiptoes around the issue of his drinking.
The image is of someone moving quietly to avoid disturbing—here applied to conversation or behavior meant to avoid conflict or discomfort.
She tiptoes around her mother's feelings.
- diplomacyNegotiation between nations
- handles with kid glovesTreats very gently
- euphemismMild substitute for bluntness
- hedgingNoncommittal maneuvering
- beats around the bushAvoids saying something directly
tread lightly · walks on eggshells · hesitation · sidestep · stealth · discretion · creep · pussyfoot · soft-pedal · evasion · circumspection · caution · tact · sneak · slink · ambiguity · politeness · restraint
tiptoes aroundtells it like it is
Speaks with brutal candor
cuts to the chase · calls a spade a spade · levels with · speaks one's mind · calls out
tiptoes aroundbarges in
Enters without permission
takes the bull by the horns · grasps the nettle · bites the bullet · attacks
tiptoe, tiptoed, tiptoeing, tips, tipped, tipping, tipper, toes, toed