支吾其词 To prevaricate
Explanation
支吾其词是指说话含糊其辞，躲躲闪闪，掩盖真相。
To prevaricate means to speak evasively, ambiguously, or vaguely, avoiding a direct answer.
Origin Story
老张是一位经验丰富的侦探，他接到一起离奇的失踪案。失踪者是一位年轻的艺术家，名叫李明。李明的妻子向警方提供了许多线索，但她的陈述总是支吾其词，含糊不清。老张敏锐地察觉到李妻的异常，他开始深入调查李明的社交圈和生活习惯。他发现李明最近参与了一个秘密的艺术项目，涉及到一些高风险的交易。李妻的支吾其词，很可能与这个项目有关。老张通过各种渠道，最终收集到了足够的证据。原来，李明为了保护妻子免受牵连，策划了这次失踪，并利用他高超的伪装技术逃脱了警方的视线。然而，真相最终还是大白于天下。
Old Zhang was an experienced detective who received a bizarre missing person case. The missing person was a young artist named Li Ming. Li Ming's wife provided many clues to the police, but her statements were always evasive and vague. Old Zhang keenly sensed the abnormality of Li's wife, and he began to investigate Li Ming's social circle and life habits in depth. He discovered that Li Ming had recently participated in a secret art project involving some high-risk transactions. Li's wife's evasiveness was likely related to this project. Through various channels, Zhang eventually gathered enough evidence. It turned out that Li Ming had planned this disappearance to protect his wife from being implicated, and he used his superb disguise skills to escape the police's sight. However, the truth finally came to light.
Usage
常用于形容说话含糊不清，躲躲闪闪，掩饰真相的情况。
Used to describe someone speaking vaguely, evasively, or ambiguously, avoiding a direct answer or concealing the truth.
Examples
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他支吾其词，不肯说出事情的真相。
tā zhī wū qí cí, bù kěn shuō chū shì qing de zhēn xiàng。
He prevaricated, unwilling to tell the truth about the matter.
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面对记者的提问，他支支吾吾，支吾其词。
miàn duì jì zhě de tí wèn, tā zhī zhī wū wū, zhī wū qí cí。
Faced with the reporter's questions, he stammered and evaded the issue.
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对于公司业绩下滑的问题，他支吾其词，无法给出令人信服的解释。
duì yú gōng sī yè jì xià huá de wèn tí, tā zhī wū qí cí, wú fǎ gěi chū lìng rén xìn fú de jiě shì。
Regarding the company's declining performance, he spoke evasively and failed to provide a convincing explanation。