wishy-washy

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

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

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.

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", The Mixer and Server 24 (1): 5

     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'.