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Umschweif, -e

beating around the bush

Definition & meaning

Umschweife is the plural of der Umschweif. It means roundabout ways of speaking or acting: unnecessary detours, lengthy explanations, or indirect wording.

In the common phrase ohne Umschweife , it means “without delay” or “without beating around the bush”—directly and plainly.

Grammar & Word origin

Umschweife is a plural noun; its singular form is der Umschweif. It is formed from um- (“around”) and der Schweif (“tail”). The image suggests winding or going around something, which developed into the figurative sense of taking an indirect route.

Synonyms & antonyms

  • die Weitschweifigkeit (“verbosity”) and die Umständlichkeit (“being unnecessarily complicated”) are close when referring to long-winded speech or explanations.
  • der Umweg (“detour”) is similar when the focus is on taking an indirect route, literally or figuratively.
  • die Direktheit (“directness”) and die Kürze (“brevity”) are antonyms in contexts involving speech or explanations.

Common phrases & collocations

  • ohne Umschweife — directly; without unnecessary preliminaries
  • ohne weitere Umschweife — without further ado
  • lange Umschweife machen — to go on at length or beat around the bush

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Examples

Er erklärt alles ohne Umschweife.other

He explains everything without beating around the bush.

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