Beat Around the Bush To avoid answering a question; to approach something carefully or in a roundabout way.

This expression goes all the way back to the 1500s when hunters hired people called beaters to drive small animals out of the bushes so the hunters could get a better shot at them. The problem for the beaters was that they might drive the birds or rabbits or foxes out too soon. They had to be careful not to drive the animals into the open before the hunters arrived. So the beaters might beat their long sticks "around the bush" rather than directly on it. Today, the expression "to beat around the bush" means talking about things in a roundabout way without giving clear answers or coming to the point.