拐弯抹角

拐彎抹角
guǎiwānmòjiǎo
idiom #15,382

Meanings

  1. 1 to beat about the bush
  2. 2 to speak in a roundabout way
  3. 3 to equivocate

Examples

Bié guǎiwānmòjiǎo le, yǒu huà zhí shuō.
Stop beating around the bush, just say what you mean.
Tā shuōhuà zǒngshì guǎiwānmòjiǎo, ràng rén mō bu zháo tóunǎo.
He always speaks in a roundabout way, leaving people confused.

Tips

history
Literally 'going around curves and skirting corners' — originally described winding roads and alleys. The figurative meaning of indirect speech evolved from the image of taking a roundabout path instead of going straight.
mistakes
The here is pronounced mò (4th tone), not mā or mǒ. This is a special reading used only in this idiom.

Stroke Order

guǎi
wān
jiǎo