soft pedalling
soft-ped·al
[sawft-ped-l, soft-] verb, soft-ped·aled, soft-ped·al·ing or ( especially British ) soft-ped·alled, soft-ped·al·ling. 
l, ˌsɒft- verb (used without object)
1.
to use the soft pedal.
verb (used with object)
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.
Origin:
1915–20; v. use of noun phrase soft pedal
1915–20; v. use of noun phrase soft pedal
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To soft pedalling
Collins
World English Dictionary
| soft-pedal | |
| —vb , (US) -als, -alling, -alled, -als, -aling, -aled | |
| 1. | to mute the tone of (a piano) by depressing the soft pedal |
| 2. | informal to make (something, esp something unpleasant) less obvious by deliberately failing to emphasize or allude to it |
| —n | |
| 3. | sustaining pedal Compare piano a foot-operated lever on a piano, the left one of two, that either moves the whole action closer to the strings so that the hammers strike with less force or causes fewer of the strings to sound |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Soft pedalling
is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
Slang Dictionary
soft pedal (sth) definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
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