# skate around

CEFR B2 · Phrasal verb

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/skate-around
Updated: 2026-10-23

## Definition

to avoid talking about a difficult subject or problem directly. You use this when someone is being careful not to mention the most important or sensitive part of a topic.

For teachers: to avoid dealing with or discussing a matter directly, typically because it is difficult, sensitive, or contentious. The verb is transitive and functions as a figurative extension of physical skating.

## Examples

- Stop skating around the issue and tell me the truth.
- During the press conference, the politician tried to skate around the questions regarding the new tax laws.
- The report merely skates around the underlying structural failures of the company, focusing instead on superficial quarterly gains.

## Pitfalls

- Not "He skated around of the problem." but "He skated around the problem." — The phrase is a transitive phrasal verb where the object follows 'around' directly without an extra preposition like 'of'.

## Usage notes

- Usually takes an object like 'the issue', 'the problem', or 'the question'.
- Teaching tip: Contrast with 'address' or 'confront'; the physical metaphor of gliding past something without touching it helps students visualize the avoidance.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.