In the following question on idioms, choose the correct verb to complete the well known English expression ______ around the bush.

Introduction / Context:
This question checks your familiarity with a very common English idiom that appears in speech, writing and exam questions. The partial expression ______ around the bush needs the missing verb to form a complete idiom. This idiom is often used in conversation to describe someone who avoids coming directly to the main point and instead talks indirectly or hesitates. Recognising such standard phrases helps improve both comprehension and your own spoken and written English.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Partial idiom: ______ around the bush.
• Options: To hit, To beat, To circle, To hide.
• We must choose the verb that completes a well known idiom.
• The idiom describes indirectness or avoidance of the main issue.

Concept / Approach:
The complete idiom is to beat around the bush. It comes from hunting traditions where people would beat bushes to drive out animals instead of going directly to them. In modern English, it means to avoid talking about something directly or to approach a topic only indirectly. None of the other verbs form a standard idiom with around the bush. You may hear hit the nail on the head or hide behind something, but hit around the bush, circle around the bush or hide around the bush are not established idioms in English.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall the idiom from listening or reading: to beat around the bush. Step 2: Match this known idiom to the options and identify beat as the correct verb. Step 3: Check whether any of the alternatives form a familiar expression. To hit around the bush does not ring any bell. Step 4: To circle around the bush may look logical but is not a standard idiom in English. Step 5: To hide around the bush also lacks idiomatic usage and fails to capture the idea of indirect speech.

Verification / Alternative check:
Consider how the idiom is used in sentences. For example, Stop beating around the bush and tell me the truth. This is a very common sentence pattern. If we replace beat with hit, the phrase Stop hitting around the bush sounds odd and unfamiliar. With circle or hide, it becomes even more unnatural. The presence of one strongly established idiom and the absence of others clearly shows that To beat is the correct choice.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• To hit: The combination hit around the bush is not a recognised idiom and does not carry a specific figurative meaning.
• To circle: Although it might suggest moving around something, it is not the established phrase used for avoiding the main point.
• To hide: The phrase hide around the bush does not exist as an idiom and fails to express the idea of indirect talking or hesitation.

Common Pitfalls:
Sometimes students rely on literal meaning and think circle around the bush suits the picture better, because someone could literally move around a bush. However, idioms must be learned as fixed phrases whose meanings are not always obvious from the individual words. Another pitfall is to choose hit because of familiarity with hit the nail on the head and mix idioms. To avoid such confusion, build a list of common idioms and review them regularly so that the correct phrase stands out immediately in exam questions.

Final Answer:
The correct completion of the idiom is To beat, forming the expression to beat around the bush, which means to avoid speaking directly about the main issue.