circumlocution

But in terms of its actual content, the statement was pretty thin gruel, bristling with public relations-style circumlocution and vagueness.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 27, 2026

To borrow the indelible circumlocution of the New York Times, the deal is “a foul-tasting sandwich” that both parties have ultimately decided to eat—while describing it publicly as, you know, a normal sandwich.

From Slate ● May 31, 2023

“You’re now a beautiful, strong flower, who must protect your delicate petals and clean them regularly,” she adds, in one of the film’s more hilarious examples of motherly misunderstanding and circumlocution.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 9, 2022

So what’s with all the indirection and artful circumlocution and what-the-meaning-of-is-is tightrope walking?

From Salon ● May 30, 2019

He shuddered at his own craven circumlocution, using so meaningless a word to obscure so hideous a truth.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

But some are prone to ludicrous circumlocutions like “Johnny faces challenges in the lived experience of interactions with his peer group in educational spaces,” instead of “Johnny doesn’t get along with his classmates.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

Their circumlocutions were as entrancing as their ability to find the most precisely ironic words for difficult-to-name realities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2025

The story rushes forwards, with dizzying circumlocutions, from there.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 20, 2019

It extended even to matters of language: Although his English was fluent, he peppered it with French circumlocutions and grammatical constructions.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 16, 2016

The convoluted syntax, multiple negatives, indefinite antecedents, and masterful circumlocutions of this statement defy comprehension.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis