mince

mince   (mĭns)    v.   minced, minc·ing, minc·es v.   tr. To cut or chop into very small pieces. To subdivide (land, for example) into minute parts. To pronounce in an affected way, as with studied elegance and refinement. To moderate or restrain (words) for the sake of politeness and decorum; euphemize: Don't mince words: say what you mean. v.   intr. To walk with very short steps or with exaggerated primness. To speak in an affected way. n.  Finely chopped food, especially mincemeat. [Middle English mincen, from Old French mincier, from Vulgar Latin *minūtiāre, from Latin minūtia, smallness; see minutia.] minc'er n.

Mince

Mince\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Minced; p. pr. & vb. n. Minging.] [AS. minsian to grow less, dwindle, fr. min small; akin to G. minder less, Goth. minniza less, mins less, adv., L. minor, adj. (cf. Minor); or more likely fr. F. mincer to mince, prob. from (assumed) LL. minutiare. ????. See Minish.]

1. To cut into very small pieces; to chop fine; to hash; as, to mince meat. --Bacon.

2. To suppress or weaken the force of; to extenuate; to palliate; to tell by degrees, instead of directly and frankly; to clip, as words or expressions; to utter half and keep back half of.

I know no ways to mince it in love, but directly to say -- "I love you." --Shak.

Siren, now mince the sin, And mollify damnation with a phrase. --Dryden.

If, to mince his meaning, I had either omitted some part of what he said, or taken from the strength of his expression, I certainly had wronged him. --Dryden.

3. To affect; to make a parade of. [R.] --Shak.

mince