soft pedal 
noun
A pedal on a piano that can be pressed to make the tone softer.Are quick passages really easier to play with the soft pedal down?...
- Do the greatest pianists really play with the soft pedal down almost all the time?
verb
(soft-pedal) [with object] Refrain from emphasizing the more unpleasant aspects of; play down: the administration’s decision to soft-pedal the missile program...
- Granted, the film probably soft-pedals the details a little in order to allow for an ending that, although not exactly happy, is not completely downbeat.
- Far from soft-pedaling his Catholicism, James II celebrated mass in public, appointed Catholics to important positions, fired officials who wouldn't convert.
- Indeed, I suspect that Pejman was soft-pedaling it for a conservative audience.
Synonyms
play down, make light of, make little/nothing of, set little/no store by, gloss over, de-emphasize, underemphasize, downplay, understate, underplay, minimize, shrug off
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- medicine chest
- medicine glass
- Medicine Hat
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- medicine show
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- medick