בְּחֲצִי פֶּה

ביטוי (אנגלית)

Half-spoken / hesitantly / with uncertainty in speech

הגדרה (אנגלית)

Figuratively: speaking hesitantly; in a weak or uncertain speech (origin in Aramaic: b’plagot pumcha). The opposite expression is “with a full mouth,” from Psalms 33:2: “Then our mouth shall be filled with laughter, and our tongue with song”).

(“Rabbi Zeira said to him, he said to him: b’plagot pumcha” — Pesachim 37a; and likewise: “The mother did not relax in feeding her baby, mumbling half-spoken words, because the doctors and nurses at Tipat Halav recommend this type of food” — Chaim Bialik / Notsot, 78.)