hem - Dictionary definition and pronunciation - Yahoo! Education
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hem2  audio  (hm) KEY 

NOUN:
A short cough or clearing of the throat made especially to gain attention, warn another, hide embarrassment, or fill a pause in speech.
intr.v.
hemmed, hem·ming, hems
  1. To utter a hem.
  2. To hesitate in speech.

IDIOM:
hem and haw
To be hesitant and indecisive; equivocate: "a leader who cannot make up his or her mind, never knows what to do, hems and haws" (Margaret Thatcher).
ETYMOLOGY:
From Middle English heminge, coughing, of imitative origin


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