mealy-mouthed •\ˈme-le-ˌmau̇thd, -ˌmau̇tht\• adjective : hesitant to state facts or opinions simply and directly as from e.g. timidity or hypocrisy The word mealy-mouthed has appeared in five New York Times articles in the past year, including on Aug. 12 in the DVD review "Oh, Bruce, What Teeth You Have" by Dave Kehr: A refugee from a collapsing, crime-ridden city (a former New York police detective, Brody could almost be a continuation of Scheider's character in William Friedkin's 1971 "French Connection"), Brody is not about to allow any shadow of urban angst to fall across the sunny beaches of his new home. Given the chance to return to New York, he almost angrily turns it down. His commitment is to the town of Amity ("It means 'friendship,' " explains Murray Hamilton's mealy-mouthed mayor) and the new kind of American community it stands for, positioned between the decaying city and the vanishing rural village. Learn more about the word "mealy-mouthed" and see usage examples across a range of subjects on the Vocabulary dictionary.