ETYM Latin circumlocutio, from circumloqui, -locutus, to make use of circumlocution; circum + loqui to speak. Related to Loquacious.
1. A style that involves indirect ways of expressing things; SYN. periphrasis.
2. An indirect way of expressing something; SYN. indirect expression.
Roundabout phrase or talk.
Roundabout, verbose way of speaking or writing when someone tries to appear impressive or is being deliberately unclear, perhaps to disguise the truth.
Charles Dickens in the novel Little Dorrit invented the Circumlocution Office as a satirical representation of a typical government department.