ChatterBank2 mins ago
"Beating around the bush"
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How did the phrase "beating around the bush" originate?
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.'Beat around the bush' comes from hunting and has meant to make preliminary preparations since the 1500s. The original meaning was to use beaters to make game birds and animals break cover (the bushes) so that the hunter could have a go at them. Nowadays, using 'don't', we mean 'cut out all the preliminary waffle and get to the point'.