pussyfoot

English

WOTD – 2 October 2010

Etymology

From pussy (“feline”) +‎ foot; because of the light and careful tread of cats.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpʊs.iˌfʊt/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Verb

pussyfoot (third-person singular simple present pussyfoots, present participle pussyfooting, simple past and past participle pussyfooted)

1. (intransitive) To move silently, stealthily, or furtively.
2. (intransitive) To act timidly or cautiously.
   • 2004, Jeph Jacques, Fripp and Eno‎^[1]:

     — So are you going to practice what you’re preaching and stop pussyfooting around with Faye?
     — Hey, I’m 0 for 1 when it comes to practicing what I preach. These feet stay pussied for the time being.

   • 2023 April 5, “Network News: NAO: Use HS2 Euston pause to put project on a stable footing”, in RAIL, number 980, page 13:

     The TSSA union said the Government should "stop pussyfooting around" and place Euston at the heart of the transformative rail project.

3. (intransitive) To use euphemistic language or circumlocution.
   • 1946, Tennessee Williams, The Unsatisfactory Supper:

     "Then you talk up! And plain! What's there to be so pussyfooting about?"

Translations

to move silently

• Bulgarian: промъквам се тихо (promǎkvam se tiho)
• Czech: opatrně našlapovat impf
• Dutch: sluipen (nl), trippelen (nl)
• Faroese: smeita (reflexive)
• Finnish: hiipiä (fi), hipsutella (fi), hipsiä
• German: trippeln (de), auf Zehenspitzen gehen, schleichen (de), herumschleichen (de), leisetreten
• Swedish: tassa (sv), smyga (sv), trippa (sv)

to act timidly

• Bulgarian: действам предпазливо (dejstvam predpazlivo)
• Czech: jednat příliš opatrně impf
• Dutch: treuzelen (nl)
• Finnish: arastella (fi), hissutella
• German: um den heißen Brei schleichen, leisetreten
• Norwegian: (figuratively) gå på gummisåler
• Swedish: fega (sv), fjompa (sv)

to use euphemistic language

• Dutch: schoonspreken
• Finnish: sievistellä (fi), hyssytellä (fi)
• German: um den heißen Brei herumreden (de)
• Norwegian: (figuratively) gå på gummisåler, skjønnmale
• Swedish: skönmåla (sv), omskriva (sv), omformulera (sv)

Noun

pussyfoot (plural pussyfoots)

1. (dated) A teetotaller.
   • 1930, Sax Rohmer, The Day the World Ended, published 1969, page xi. 103:

     "We keep off that road like a pussyfoot keeps off whiskey. Get it out of your bean that we're exploring a deserted ruin."

See also

• pussytoe
• walk on eggshells