Modul 4: Idiom 02: Beat around the bush

Beat Around The Bush

Hi. Let’s take a look at the Idiom, ‘Beat around the bush.’ When somebody ‘beats around the bush’ it means that they are not being direct about something they are saying. When someone says to you “don’t beat around the bush” they are saying “get to the point”, “what are you really trying to say”, “just tell it to me straight, now.”

So what is the origin of this idiom?

When hunting game in Britain, game meaning animals, the hunters would take sticks and literally beat the sticks around bushes where their game, the animals, would be hiding. By beating the bushes they were scaring the animals to come out from hiding and when the animals came out, they could hunt them. Shooting the animals was the point of hunting. ‘Beating around the bush’ was just something that got in the way of the hunt. So the hunters would beat around the bush to get to the animals.

Let’s take a look at our illustration.

Here we see a hunter standing over a bush which has beating sticks on either side. Can you see what is in the bush? There is a bird in the bush. The bird is hiding. We can see the bird looks worried because it knows it’s being hunted. That is why it is hiding but the sound of the sticks is scaring it so it will soon fly out.  Now, look at the man. Do you think he likes talking and over-explaining things? He sure does. When it takes too long for someone to get to the point, the idiom applies: don’t beat around the bush. Don’t waste our time; just say it.

Here are some examples before we go to the concept questions…

“Stop beating around the bush! If you are firing me then just tell me.”

“When my boyfriend beats around the bush, I know he’s done something wrong.”

“I can feel myself beating around the bush so I need to just say it, we are over. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t beat around the bush, just tell me honestly if you like my haircut!”

“Jason didn’t know how to tell his girlfriend that he was going to the pub with his friends, so he beat around the bush until she got the idea.”

Great.

Let’s look at some situations and check your understanding:

1. Your child is upstairs in their bedroom. You have been nagging her all week “do your homework, do your homework” but she keeps procrastinating. She keeps putting off the work: ‘I’ll do it later.’ So, she hasn’t done it yet. Later that evening, when you call her down for dinner, you ask if she actually did do her homework. Then she says, “Oh. Well, I opened my book and I sharpened my pencil but then my pencil broke, so I had to get a new one from my bag, but then I remember that I told someone at school that-” Is your child beating around the bush? Yes. She is beating around the bush because she is worried about just saying “no, I didn’t do it.”

2. My wife had a meeting with someone and asked me to get the dinner out of the oven that she had spent all day cooking. The problem is, I forgot to get it out and now it’s burnt!  If I honestly tell her I forgot, do I beat around the bush? No. Saying something directly and honestly is not beating around the bush.  

3. I drew a picture of my sister for her birthday. It took me a long time but honestly, I wasn’t very happy with it. When I asked her if she liked it, she said, “Oh, I forgot I had that top that I’m wearing” and “Look at my hair! I should have been more cautious,” and added, “This was a nice idea, thank you.” Did she beat around the bush? She definitely beat around the bush and didn’t actually say how she liked my picture.

4. Neil came home to his wife, who had been looking after the children all day. As soon as he came through the door, she said “I’ve had enough. I’m exhausted so am going to have a bath, you can look after the kids and make dinner.” Was Meredith beating around the bush? No, she wasn’t, as she told Neil exactly what she thought without taking a long time to say it. 

5. June’s husband, Jackson, came home one day and was acting sheepishly– he seemed shy, embarrassed even.  He had caused some kind of damage to their car and was spending a long time trying to explain to June what exactly had happened. Was he beating around the bush? Yes, he was delaying telling June explicitly what happened.

Great. Now go and practise. See you soon.