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Why is it bad to beat around the bush?
Did you know? This expression dates back to the 1500s and refers to the process of hunting birds. British gamekeepers would hire people to beat the edges of a bush so that the birds would get scared and fly into the air where they could be shot directly.
What does it mean when someone is beating around the bush?
to avoid giving a definite answer or position. Please stop beating around the bush and tell me the full story.
Why do Americans beat around the bush?
It’s a way to try to avoid responding or to divert attention from the truth. “To beat around the bush” was a hunting term originally. In bird hunting, hunters employ beaters to flush birds out of the brush to put the quarry to flight. Thus, beating the bushes is preamble to the main event.
Where did the phrase beat around the bush come from?
The origin of the idiom ‘beating around the bush’ is associated with hunting. In medieval times, hunters hired men to beat the area around bushes with sticks in order to flush out game taking cover underneath.
What does ‘beat around the Bush’ mean?
To ‘beat around the bush‘ is to avoid the main point in a conversation. In other words, it means failing to get to the bottom line when speaking to others; it is similar to the idiom cut to the chase .
What does it mean to Bete the bussh and some the byrdes?
“Some bete the bussh and some the byrdes take.” An alternative way people say this expression is ‘beating (about) the bush.’ An early recording of the phrase with the word ‘about’ in it comes from a poem written by George Gascoigne, 1572: He bet about the bushe, whiles other caught the birds …”
What is the origin of the phrase “to flush out the bushes”?
It’s origin is believed to be from hunting. According to Idiomation, in medieval times hunters would hire men to assist them during a hunt. Their job was to help flush out animals that were hiding in the bushes.