A: Have you read the story I sent you? How do you like it?

B: I’m afraid it is too wishy-washy; you need to add some verve to it.

Note: This word, first used in the 1600s, means “lacking in strength, flavor, character, or determination.” “Washy,” literally meaning “over-diluted,” came to mean “feeble, weak, and ineffectual.” Adding “wishy” to “washy” is a use of alliteration for the catchy effect it produces.