hovering chopsticks indecisively over dishes (bad table manners)
Refers to the rude act of waving chopsticks back and forth over shared dishes while deciding what to take. Often listed among 嫌い箸 (disliked chopstick manners).
See also: 惑い箸
Hovering your chopsticks indecisively is one of the behaviors to avoid as a dining manner.
彼はどれを取ろうか迷って、つい迷い箸をしてしまった。
He couldn't decide which one to take and ended up hovering his chopsticks.
Standard kanji spelling for this etiquette term.
Kana spelling is sometimes used in explanatory contexts or for learners.
Compound of 迷い (mayoi, 'hesitation, indecision') + 箸 (hashi, 'chopsticks'), with rendaku voicing of はし to ばし. The term describes the indecisive movement of chopsticks.