wishy-washy

English

WOTD – 3 July 2010

Etymology

Reduplication of washy.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈwɪʃ.iˌwɒʃ.i/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈwɪʃ.iˌwɑ.ʃi/, /ˈwɪʃ.iˌwɔ.ʃi/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Adjective

wishy-washy (comparative wishy-washier or more wishy-washy, superlative wishy-washiest or most wishy-washy)

1. Wavering; lacking in commitment, certainty, or support; namby-pamby.

   Not wanting to be pressed for details, public relations gave a wishy-washy answer.

   • 2023 July 17, Rhymer Rigby, “Sick of this Conservative government? That shouldn’t stop you having Tory friends”, in The Guardian‎^[1], →ISSN:

     I’m not about to vote Conservative myself (I’m a wishy-washy centrist who liked Tony Blair’s early work and has since mostly voted Labour, with an occasional swing to the Liberal Democrats and Greens) […]

2. Thin or watery.

   The wishy-washy orange juice served by the cafeteria not only failed to be sweet; it was barely orange.

   • 1915, “Maine booze turns an iron tub blue”, in The Mixer and Server:

     Usually the quality of the liquor is judged by the "bite" of it. The hotter the better. A drink of first class, aged whisky would be ridiculed in most parts of Maine as a wishy-washy beverage fit only for mollycoddles. The Down East "soak" wants something that stings and burns all the way, and usually he gets it […]

   • 2006, Gipsy Petulengro, Romany Hints for Outdoor Living and Tips for Ramblers, page 7:

     And you will appreciate drinking the hot cup, or rather billy, of tea—which is more than one can call the wishy-washy concoction served up in some 'tea-houses'.

Translations

wavering or lacking in commitment, certainty, or support

• Danish: vægelsindet
• Finnish: ympäripyöreä (fi)
• French: molasse (fr), mollasson (fr), béni-oui-oui (fr), chiffe molle (fr), femmelette (fr), couille molle (fr) (colloquial), girouette (fr), +fadasse (fr), aseptisé (fr)
• German: Wischiwaschi- (de)
• Italian: incerto (it), smidollato (it), mollaccione m, indeciso (it) m
• Portuguese: indeciso (pt) m, enrolado (pt) m
• Russian: невырази́тельный (ru) (nevyrazítelʹnyj), безли́кий (ru) (bezlíkij), бле́дный (ru) (blédnyj), (somewhat, informal) хи́лый (ru) (xílyj), зы́бкий (ru) m (zýbkij)
• Spanish: indeciso (es), lábil (es), débil (es), vacilante (es), veleta (es), tornadizo (es)
• Swedish: vacklande (sv)

thin or watery

• Finnish: vetinen (fi)
• French: lavasse (fr), jus de chaussette (fr), pisse d’âne (fr), bibine (fr), eau de vaisselle (fr)
• German: verwässert (de)
• Icelandic: lapþunnur m
• Italian: annacquato (it) m, allungato (it) m, diluito (it) m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: vassen (no), tynn (no)

• Russian: водяни́стый (ru) (vodjanístyj), сла́бый (ru) (slábyj), жи́дкий (ru) (žídkij)
• Spanish: bebistrajo (es), aguado (es)