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单词 soft pedal
释义

soft pedal


soft pedal

n. A pedal used to mute tone, as on a piano.

soft′ ped′al


n. 1. a pedal, as on a piano, for reducing tonal volume. 2. something that restrains or dampens. [1915–20]

soft′-ped′al



v. -aled, -al•ing (esp. Brit.) -alled, -al•ling. v.i. 1. to use the soft pedal of a piano. v.t. 2. to attempt to make less obvious, important, or objectionable; downplay. [1915–20]
Thesaurus
Noun1.soft pedal - a pedal on a piano that moves the action closer to the strings and so soften the soundfoot lever, foot pedal, treadle, pedal - a lever that is operated with the footforte-piano, piano, pianoforte - a keyboard instrument that is played by depressing keys that cause hammers to strike tuned strings and produce sounds
Translations

soft pedal


soft pedal

That which dampens, diminishes, or downplays the importance or impact of something. Hyphenated if used before a noun as a modifier. It's unsurprising to me that the board decided to apply a soft pedal to our plans for expansion, giving the recent uncertainty in the market. The president's plan has been criticized as a soft-pedal approach to dealing with the potential of nuclear weapons in an already turbulent region.See also: pedal, soft

soft-pedal (something)

To dampen, diminish, or downplay the importance or impact of something. An allusion to the dampening effects of a piano's soft pedal. You really need to soft-pedal your rhetoric if you want to win over enough mainstream voters to get re-elected. The university has been soft-pedaling its association with the controversial activist in recent months.

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] See also: pedal, soft
EncyclopediaSeesoft-pedal

soft pedal


  • noun

Words related to soft pedal

noun a pedal on a piano that moves the action closer to the strings and so soften the sound

Related Words

  • foot lever
  • foot pedal
  • treadle
  • pedal
  • forte-piano
  • piano
  • pianoforte
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更新时间:2025/3/18 1:30:13