wishy-washy
UK /ˈwɪʃ.iˌwɒʃ.i/ · US /ˈwɪʃ.iˌwɑ.ʃi/ adjective
Forms wishy-washier wishy-washiest
- adjective Wavering; lacking in commitment, certainty, support, and (often) clarity; namby-pamby. “Not wanting to be pressed for details, public relations gave a wishy-washy answer.”
- adjective Thin or watery. “The wishy-washy orange juice served by the cafeteria not only failed to be sweet; it was barely orange.”
Synonyms
vacillating vacillatory watered-down diluted dilute namby-pamby gutless spineless
Etymology
Reduplication of washy; more at Wikipedia under ablaut reduplication. The wish portion of the term is explained much more by the ablaut reduplication than by any coincidental semantic appropriateness (such as that wishy-washy people wish that they could have it both ways), although the latter effect may play some nonzero cognitive role in word-finding. Compare also swish, swash, splish, and splash regarding any possible sound symbolism.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Thin and pale; weak; without strength or substance; --originally said of liquids. Fig., weak-minded; spiritless.
- noun A weak or thin drink or liquor; wish-wash.
Etymology [See Wash.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “wishy-washy”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details