pussyfoot

English · Thesaurus

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pussyfoot

/ˈpʊsiˌfʊt/ Australia, UK, US
/ˈpɵsɪjˌfɵt/ British, Southern, Standard
/ˈpʉseˌfʉt/ Northern Ireland, Scotland
/-sɪ-/ Northern Ireland, Scotland
/-si-/ Northern Ireland, Scotland

Where it comes from

From pussy (“feline”) + foot; because of the light and careful tread of cats.

verb pussyfoots · pussyfooting · pussyfooted

intransitive To move silently, stealthily, or furtively.
intransitive To act timidly or cautiously. — So are you going to practice what you’re preaching and stop pussyfooting around with Faye? — Hey, I’m 0 for 1 when it comes to practicing what I preach. These feet stay pussied for the time being.
intransitive To use euphemistic language or circumlocution. "Then you talk up! And plain! What's there to be so pussyfooting about?"
Similar: pollyfox

noun pussyfoots

countable, dated A teetotaller. "We keep off that road like a pussyfoot keeps off whiskey. Get it out of your bean that we're exploring a deserted ruin."
countable, uncountable Synonym of bluemink (“Ageratum houstonianum”).
Similar: bluemink

Translations

Every language

verb to move silently

Deutsch	trippeln, auf Zehenspitzen gehen, schleichen, herumschleichen, leisetreten

verb to act timidly

Deutsch	um den heißen Brei schleichen, leisetreten

verb to use euphemistic language

Deutsch	um den heißen Brei herumreden

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Cite this

MLA

"pussyfoot." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/pussyfoot. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

pussyfoot. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/pussyfoot

Chicago

"pussyfoot." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/pussyfoot.

BibTeX

@misc{pussyfoot_2026,
  title = {pussyfoot},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/pussyfoot},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}