1 clumsy

2 awkward

3 stupid

1 pedantic

2 trite

3 inflexible

4 adherence to old ideas

1 roundabout route

2 circuitous

3 tortuous

4 to outflank

5 indirect

6 roundabout

1 to remain honest and poor

1 to overreach oneself

2 to try to be clever and end up with egg on one's face

1 the unvarnished truth is better than a cunning ruse (idiom)

2 honesty is the best policy

1 lit. clumsy mouth and broken tongue (idiom); awkward speaker

1 to be unable to express oneself clearly (idiom)

1 meandering and circuitous (idiom); complicated developments that never get anywhere

2 going around in circles