hem and haw

H h

Definitions of hem and haw words

noun hem and haw the utterance or sound of “hem.”. 1
noun hem and haw a sound or pause of hesitation: His sermon was full of hems and haws. 1
verb without object hem and haw to utter the sound “hem.”. 1
verb without object hem and haw to hesitate in speaking. 1
idioms hem and haw hem and haw, to hesitate or falter: She hemmed and hawed a lot before she came to the point. to speak noncommittally; avoid giving a direct answer: He hems and haws and comes out on both sides of every question. 1
countable noun hem and haw Haws are the red berries produced by hawthorn trees in the fall. 0

before 1520

One of the 28% oldest English words

First recorded in 1520-30; imitative

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 90% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

shilly-shally — to show indecision or hesitation; be irresolute; vacillate.
back and fill — to manoeuvre the sails by alternately filling and emptying them of wind to navigate in a narrow place
beat around the bush — to talk around a subject without getting to the point
beg the question — If you say that something begs a particular question, you mean that it makes people want to ask that question; some people consider that this use is incorrect.