- mealy-mouthed
- 1572, "afraid to say what one really thinks," probably from O.E. milisc "sweet," from P.Gmc. *meduz "honey" (see mead (1)), which suits the sense, but if the O.E. word did not survive long enough to be the source of this, perhaps the first element is from meal (2) on notion of the "softness" of ground flour.