salirse por la tangente

1.
SpainLatin Americaneutralcolloquial
- Literal: to move away along a tangent (i.e., to take a path that diverges from a main line or course).
2.
SpainLatin Americainformalcolloquial
- Figurative: to avoid the main issue by changing the subject, diverting attention, or taking an indirect route in argument or action.

Examples:

ES: Eso es salirse por la tangente.
EN: Well, that's a very easy way out of it.
ES: Bueno, eso es una forma de salirse por la tangente, ¿no es así?
EN: Well that's a handy little get-out for you, isn't it?
ES: Señor, está mirando de salirse por la tangente e intentan desacreditar esta...
EN: Sir, he's just looking at some angles to try and discredit this...
ES: A veces, hay que salirse por la tangente para llegar a la meta correcta.
EN: Sometimes, it takes a crooked path to finally go straight.
ES: Intenta salirse por la tangente sacando a relucir cosas sin relación.
EN: He's trying to go on a tangent by bringing up unrelated things.