Word of the Day: tergiversate

tergiversate (v)

To be evasive or ambiguous; equivocate; shilly shally.

"When I confronted Arbogast with my disenchantment over cost overruns that were challenging the German inflation of the 1920s, he laid it off to my 'psychotic demand for change orders.'
"Relax, cousin," he said. "If you'll stop your tergiversating, Arbogast and Company will be history in four weeks. My hand to God."
--Woody Allen, "On a Bad Day You Can See Forever"

I'm not a "foodie". When confronted by a menu in a restaurant, my tendency is to tergiversate until the waiter starts hovering, and then order the chicken. I'd really prefer that someone order for me. When I was in Morocco on a business trip years ago (long, dull story), someone did order for me. And I ended up eating pigeon and rice. With my hands. And it tasted just like... chicken.