Klryz
Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings

Vowels

iːseeɪsite / ɛbedæcat
ɑːfatherɒhot (UK)ɔːlawʊput
uːtooʌcupɜːbirdəabout
eɪdayaɪmyɔɪboyaʊnow
əʊ / oʊgo (UK / US)ɪəneareəhairʊətour

Consonants that look unusual

θthinðthisʃsheʒmeasure
tʃchurchdʒjudgeŋsingjyes

p b t d k g f v s z h m n l r w sound as in ordinary English spelling.

Marks

  • ˈ main stress, before the stressed syllable: /ˈwɔːtə/ water · ˌ lighter (secondary) stress: /ˌʌndəˈstænd/ understand
  • ː a long vowel · (r) an r said only in accents that pronounce it (most American, Scottish, Irish)

Common word endings

  • -s / -es (plurals; he/she form of verbs): /s/ after voiceless sounds (cats), /z/ after voiced (dogs), /ɪz/ after s, z, sh, ch, j sounds (buses, watches). Spelling: -es after s, x, z, ch, sh; consonant + y → -ies (city → cities).
  • -ed (past): /t/ after voiceless sounds (walked), /d/ after voiced (played), /ɪd/ after t or d (wanted). Spelling: love → loved, stop → stopped, carry → carried.
  • -ing: make → making, run → running, see → seeing.
  • Irregular: go, went, gone · be, was, been · see, saw, seen · man → men · child → children · mouse → mice.
  • Older (King James) forms: -eth = -s (he loveth = he loves) · -est with “thou” (thou lovest) · spake = spoke.

English Dictionary · 107,383 entries · Sources & licences

beat around the bush

UK /ˈbiːt əˌɹaʊ̯nd ðə bʊʃ/ · US /ˈbit əˌɹaʊ̯nd ðə bʊʃ/ verb

Forms beats around the bush beating around the bush beated around the bush beaten around the bush beat about the bush

  1. verb (idiomatic) To treat a topic, but omit its main points, often intentionally.
  2. verb (idiomatic) To delay or avoid talking about something difficult or unpleasant. “Just stop beating around the bush and tell me what the problem is!”

Synonyms

go around the houses prevaricate pussyfoot ramble tergiversate waffle equivocate palter

Antonyms

cut to the chase get on with get to the point

Etymology

From the older form beat about the bush, replacing the preposition.

Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “beat around the bush”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details