(idiomatic, US) To discuss, deliberate, or contemplate rather than taking action or making up one's mind.
If you hem and haw long enough, someone else will do it first.
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To mumble and procrastinate in one's speech, especially with a reply to a hard question or with voicing a decision on a topical matter; to evade a question, giving vague answers; to equivocate or temporize.
1903, The People of the Abyss, by Jack London, Chapter 1
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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