Dictionary

soft-soap en · NOUN

Meanings

1. (idiomatic, uncountable) Persuasion by means of flattery or pleasing words.
   • If it ‘adn’t a-been for your soft soap I’d a-got my forty quid out o’ the old devil months ago. 1937, Dorothy L. Sayers, Busman's Honeymoon:
   • And look here, my dear, don't let them get round you with soft soap either. 1928, Agatha Christie, The Mystery of the Blue Train:
   • Bond grinned again as he thought of Damon's exasperation at having to dish out a lot of soft soap to Washington when he probably had plenty of other Anglo-American snarls to disentangle. 1954, Ian Fleming, “True or False?”, in Live and Let Die, London: Pan Books, published 1957, page 89:

Forms

soft-soap en · VERB

Meanings

1. (idiomatic, informal, transitive) To attempt to persuade by flattery or pleasing words; to butter up.

Forms

Synonyms

cajole · wheedle · canoodle · fleech · collogue · stroke · whilly · twist · sweet-talk · honey up · sweeten · ingle · butter up · engle · soap · croodle · blandander · word · carny · coax · cajole · hum · blandish · tweedle · inveigle · fast-talk · wheedle · inveigle · soft-soap · honey around · soft-sawder

Translations (13)

es endulzar el oído (to try to persuade by flattering) · bg лаская (to try to persuade by flattering) · es adular (to try to persuade by flattering) · fi imarrella (to try to persuade by flattering) · bg подмазвам се (to try to persuade by flattering) · ca ensabonar (to try to persuade by flattering) · ca llagotejar (to try to persuade by flattering) · it adulare (to try to persuade by flattering) · it intortare (to try to persuade by flattering) · cs mazat někomu med kolem huby (to try to persuade by flattering) · cy seboni (to try to persuade by flattering) · fi mairitella (to try to persuade by flattering) · it abbindolare (to try to persuade by flattering)