fence with (someone)
In a conversation, to evade or avoid directly answering someone or something. Ever the sly spin doctor, the candidate was able to deftly fence with the journalist around questions of his dubious background.
fence with
Avoid answering directly, try to evade, as in The mayor was very clever at fencing with the press about his future plans. This expression transfers the parry and thrust of fencing to a verbal exchange. [Second half of 1600s]