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wishy-washiness

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wish⋅y-wash⋅y

[wish-ee-wosh-ee, -waw-shee]
–adjective
1. lacking in decisiveness; without strength or character; irresolute.
2. washy or watery, as a liquid; thin and weak.

Origin:
1685–95; gradational compound based on washy


wish⋅y-wash⋅i⋅ly, adverb
wish⋅y-wash⋅i⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To wishy-washiness
wish·y-wash·y   (wĭsh'ē-wŏsh'ē, -wô'shē)   
adj.   wish·y-wash·i·er, wish·y-wash·i·est Informal
  1. Thin and watery, as tea or soup; insipid.

  2. Lacking in strength of character or purpose; ineffective.


[Reduplication of washy, thin, watery, from wash.]
wish'y-wash'i·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
wishy-washy [ˈwɪʃiˈwɑʃi]

  1. mod.
    indecisive; insipid; weak. : Don't be such a wishy-washy wimp.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

wishy-washy 
1693, "feeble or poor in quality," reduplication of washy "thin, watery" (see wash). Meaning "vacillating" first recorded 1873.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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