mince words

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• mĭns′ wûrdz′
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• Australian, Received-Pronunciation: /ˌmɪns ˈwɜːdz/
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• AuE Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• Canada, General-American: /ˌmɪns ˈwɜɹdz/
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• General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• New-Zealand: /ˌməns ˈwøːdz/
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• Scotland: /ˌmɪns ˈwʌɹdz/
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• India: /ˌmɪns ˈwəːrɖz/
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From mince (“to say or utter vaguely (not directly or frankly)”, transitive figurative verb) + words. First attested in the mid-1500s.

18 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Chinese Mandarin: 直言不諱 /直言不讳 (zhíyánbùhuì) — to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.
• Dutch: zich geen blad voor de mond nemen — to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.
• Dutch: zonder omhaal van woorden — to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.
• Finnish: kierrellä — to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.
• French: ne pas mâcher ses mots — to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.
• German: sich kein Blatt vor den Mund nehmen — to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.
• Icelandic: tala tæpitungulaust — to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.
• Icelandic: vera ómyrkur í máli — to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.
• Italian: pesare le parole — to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.
• Italian: usare mezzi termini — to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.
• Norwegian Bokmål: ikke ta bladet for munnen — to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.
• Polish: owijać w bawełnę — to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.
• Portuguese: não ter papas na língua — to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.
• Russian: говори́ть обиняка́ми (govorítʹ obinjakámi) — to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.
• Russian: говори́ть без обиняко́в (govorítʹ bez obinjakóv) — to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.
• Spanish: no tener pelos en la lengua — to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.
• Swedish: skräda orden — to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.
• Telugu: నీళ్ళు నములు (nīḷḷu namulu) — to restrain oneself when speaking by withholding some comments or using euphemisms in order to be polite, tactful, etc.