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Introduction

Here's an expression to use when things are just too vague.

Transcript

Neil
Welcome to The English we speak, with me Neil…

Feifei
And me, Feifei.

Neil
We have a word which describes something that is weak, vague or undefined – it’s ‘wishy-washy’.

Feifei
‘Wishy-washy’. Let's hear how we can use this, Neil.

Neil
Let's think about what not to do in a job interview. If you turn up without thinking about the questions you might get asked, you'll only be able to come up with wishy-washy answers.

Feifei
I tried that once - it really didn't work. The interviewers asked me why I should get the job, and I could only say something wishy-washy about being good at doing new things.

Neil
Wishy-washy answers to questions in job interviews, or exams are those which don't really answer the question - they are just a bit weak and undefined. We can also use it to talk about the way that people do things.

Feifei
Yes, we could say that a manager who takes a very weak approach to problems, or is too scared to talk to their staff is a bit wishy-washy.

Neil
Listen to these examples of how we can use wishy-washy

Examples
If you take such as wishy-washy approach to dealing with these problems, they are only going to get worse.

He gave some wishy-washy excuse about not having time, but I think he just didn't want to do it.

Your answer needs to address these points. If you just write something wishy-washy, you won't get any marks.

Feifei
You’re listening to The English we speak from BBC Learning English, and we are learning the word ‘wishy-washy’, which is a way to describe something as vague, weak or undefined. Unsurprisingly, it's always used in a negative way.

Neil
If you think of it as meaning weak and watery, then it's a kind of example of onomatopoeia - think of the sound of water swishing around.

Feifei
Yes, a more literal meaning of wishy-washy is when it is used to describe flavours - if something tastes a bit wishy-washy, it's as if it's been watered down.

Neil
Well hopefully our explanations haven't been too wishy-washy. Join us next time to learn some more of The English we speak!

Feifei
Bye bye

Neil
Bye

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