Result from Foreign Dictionaries (2 entries found)
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Mealy-mouthed \Meal"y-mouthed`\, a.
Using soft words; not straightforward; plausible; affectedly
or timidly delicate of speech; speaking deviously; unwilling
to tell the truth in plain language. Opposite of {frank} or
{blunt}. "Mealy-mouthed philanthropies." --Tennyson.
[1913 Webster]
She was a fool to be mealy-mouthed where nature speaks
so plain. --L'Estrange.
[1913 Webster] -- {Meal"y-mouth`ness}, n.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
mealy-mouthed
adj 1: hesitant to state facts or opinions simply and directly
as from e.g. timidity or hypocrisy; "a mealymouthed
politician" [syn: {mealymouthed}, {mealy-mouthed}]