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Explanation: shilly-shally dilly-dally dither be indecisive/irresolute, be undecided, be uncertain, be unsure, be doubtful vacillate, waver, teeter, hesitate, oscillate, fluctuate, falter, drag one's feet haver, hum and haw (British) swither (Scottish) dilly-dally, blow hot and cold, sit on the fence
Some more informal than others, some may not be understood by an international audience. Basic gist: failure to get on and make a decision!
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 2 hrs (2016-05-29 19:09:09 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
NB (ref discussion) "failure to get on" meaning "failure to get on with something", not "... someone". Apologies for any unintended misunderstanding. The key point is that the EU is failing to come up with/ decide upon a plan of action (could be about the migrant crisis?).
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 16 hrs (2016-05-30 09:04:23 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Just to add to my long list... prevaricate is also a possibility - although loses the more colourful nature of the idiomatic options. In the end, it will be the fuller (missing) context that decides.
"zwischen mehreren sich ausschließenden Möglichkeiten an Entscheidungen hin und her pendeln" - If you had said "flip-flopping," I might have agreed.
None of the German examples have anyone waver. At the end of the day, it's not clear what the person actually wanted to say. The person can, but doesn't need to be indecisive or undecided. It's his or her intention not to be for or against something. It's what politicians do all day, although they call it "evolve."
In any case, the original article about Greece's debt says: "Dass die Geldgeber das nicht zugeben wollen, ist politisches Kalkül. [...] müssen Tabus fallen. Dazu gehört ein wirklicher Schuldenerlass [...] In jedem Fall muss bald etwas passieren. Wenn die EU jetzt herumlaviert,..." [link see below]
So: "auf die lange Bank schieben." They don't waver or vacillate, they just don't want to deal with it. Actually, they DID decide not to listen. Lots of blah blah to calm down people, nothing concrete.
"Will er zurück auf die Bühne der großen Politik und für den Bundestag kandidieren? Stattdessen soll der 69-Jährige herumlaviert haben, er werde sich so entscheiden, dass es der Partei bei der Wahl im September helfe." http://www.sol.de/neo/nachrichten/saarbruecken/Bundestag-Lin...
Just as I said: No clear answers, only blah blah.
@Julia and Ramey Popped into my head: What do you think about "dodging" as in "dodging questions"= Just to add one more suggestion.
The German sources should clearly corroborate what I said below: "So "unsure, uncertain, indecisive, etc." would be overinterpretation."
That could play into Julia's hands here regarding "drag one's feet" :) But "waver" is definitely out, in my opinion. It's no use for any of the references, nor for the source article.
It's as I said in my agreement with Ramey: All talk, no action.
It's: inability to act, agree on something, endless debates.
Since this question seems to get much more attention than I anticipated, what about some German references?
"hat jetzt namens des Kreisausschusses Antworten geliefert, die die Genossen nur 'teils, teils' zufriedenstellen, wie ihr Fraktionschef Karl Thumser formuliert. 'Einige sind aussagefähig, bei anderen wird eher herumlaviert', so Thumsers Einschätzung." http://www.spd-main-taunus.de/aktuelles/aktuelles/klinikfusi...
The last three discussion box posts will explain why I think LEO is NOT a group effort like KudoZ.
@Ramey Thanks, I can agree with everything you say: "impulse givers" - spot on. There are just people in here who do use it as a solid reference. That's why I said don't take it personal (neither should Julia, since she didn't need any of that LEO stuff for her last answer).
In essence, the German term means that you make excuses (= sich herauswinden, herausmanövrieren) to not have to discuss an issue. Maybe you say nothing or maybe you say something totally irrelevant to buy time, to sit it out, to confuse, etc. The fact is you don't know the reason for "herumlavieren." So "unsure, uncertain, indecisive, etc." would be overinterpretation. "postpone" is only part of it. The refusal to face something head-on is "herumlavieren."
Best wishes
Ramey Rieger (X)
Germany
@Björn
19:23 May 29, 2016
The dics (I agree are not really dictionaries) are not, at least in my opinion, reference material, but impulse givers. Sometimes the translation rings true, oft, I have to consider how or if it meets the need. No, I'm not fond of Leo or Linguee and find dict.cc to be a HAIR more reliable. But I'm also not fan of Go-go-google and duden cannot render references in my language. I KNOW people use wrong terms in texts, but I get PAID to find the right ones. It doesn't annoy me, it often amuses me. But then, I love my work! (and I still think evasive maneuvers is nice. Despite coming from dict.cc (sorta), it is exactly what the EU is and has been doing on many issues...
I find LEO to be a very useful reference, with many real-world examples - and it is a group effort, much like Kudoz. As Ramey suggests, it's how one interprets the information that counts. There are seemingly a great many valid corresponding words/phrases in English for this term!
Don't take it personal, please. This is the third time in one week that someone uses LEO as a source. As I explained to Phil in another post, neither LEO nor dict.cc are "dictionaries" and their creators never seemed to think of them in that way.
When you get enough articles from which you have to remove words because someone just happens to take the first word he or she can find on LEO, then you'd get PO'd after a while too.
I know you as someone who has enough creativity and knowledge to not require any of these sources, so I can't help but wonder why these alleged dictionaries are used as justification/confirmation at all.
That doesn't match the question. By the way: I'm not (!) disputing your knowledge in your native language, I am wary of the answerers' interpretation of the German source.
That's an entirely different matter.
PS: And even if you're not so fond of LEO (I, for one, don't believe you are), a lot of other people in this forum seem to be (which is why I don't post answers).
Ramey Rieger (X)
Germany
@Björn
18:57 May 29, 2016
If yours is the most obvious choice, the POST it, and see what our colleagues think. Shadow-boxing is pretty much what you have described, throwing punches in the air without hitting anything straight on. ALL suggestion intimate this image, not postponing, but avoiding confronting the issue head on. Evasive maneuvers seems quite appropriate as well and synonymous with tip-toeing through the tulips. there is nothing wrong with using dics, when one is capable of interpreting the meanings offered. I NEVER rely wholly on dics, duden & co., but on my inherent knowledge of my native language. Yes, your opening sentence got my goat - MAAAA
None of the answers mention the most obvious choice: "tiptoe around something to avoid dealing directly with a problem The government should stop tiptoeing around the issue of health care." http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/tiptoe...
E.g.: "Das anhaltende Herumlavieren von Kretschmann beim Länderfinanzausgleich ist nicht nur peinlich, sondern auch eines Ministerpräsidenten, der die Interessen Baden-Württembergs zu vertreten hat, nicht mehr würdig. Seit seinem Amtsantritt weigert sich Kretschmann, zum ungerechten und leistungsfeindlichen Länderfinanzausgleich <b<eine klare Position zu beziehen." http://fdp-dvp-fraktion.de/pressemitteilungen/ruelke-das-ern...
It doesn't just mean "postpone." It has little to do with "shadow boxing." And it's not "failure to get on," but "failure to face something head-on."
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 9 hrs (2016-05-30 02:12:56 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Just seen Björn's latest rephrasing in the Discussion Box: auf die lange Bank schieben a perfect equivalent to kicking a problem further down the road kicking a problem into the long grass http://www.idiomcenter.com/dictionary/kick-sth-into-the-long...
Lancashireman United Kingdom Local time: 18:19 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 208
peer agreement (net): +2
