stop short of (doing) something
to decide that you are not willing to do something wrong or dangerous, though you will do something similar that is less dangerous

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

stop short of
stop short of (doing something)
1.
to decide not to do something.
I stopped short of telling him what I really felt about him.

2.
to almost do something, or partly do something without completing it.
The punishments are quite severe but they stop short of losing your job.

Usage notes: sometimes used in the forms stop well short of or stop just short of:
The government is stopping just short of threatening to go to war.

stop short of (something/doing something)
to decide not to do something.
I stopped short of telling him what I really felt about him.

stop short of (something/doing something)
to decide not to do something.
I stopped short of telling him what I really felt about him.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

stop short of something
stop short of (something/doing something)
to decide not to do something.
I stopped short of telling him what I really felt about him.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

stop short of
to not go as far as doing something
We stopped short of asking the secretary to leave although she continued to make mistakes with her work.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲