| 1. | Also called una corda pedal. a pedal, as on a piano, for reducing tonal volume. |
| 2. | Informal. something that restrains or dampens: to put a soft pedal on one's enthusiasm. |
[sawft-ped-l, soft-] 
verb, -aled, -al⋅ing or (especially British) -alled, -al⋅ling.| 1. | to use the soft pedal. |
| 2. | to soften the sound of by using the soft pedal. |
| 3. | Informal. to tone or play down; make less strong, as an idea or fact: The dean soft-pedaled the reports of cheating. |
| soft pedal n. A pedal used to mute tone, as on a piano. |
| Main Entry: | soft pedal |
| Part of Speech: | n |
| Definition: | See damper pedal |
soft pedal (sth)
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soft pedal
Something that de-emphasizes, restrains, or plays down, as in The mayor put a soft pedal on this potentially explosive situation. This expression alludes to the una corda or soft pedal of the piano, which reduces the volume of the sound. It gave rise to the verb soft-pedal, meaning both "reduce the volume of" or "make less emphatic, downplay." [Early 1900s]