soft pedal

¹

noun

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.

soft-pedal

²

[ sawft-ped-l, soft- ]

verb (used without object)

, soft-ped·aled, soft-ped·al·ing or (especially British) soft-ped·alled, soft-ped·al·ling.

1. to use the soft pedal.

verb (used with object)

, soft-ped·aled, soft-ped·al·ing or (especially British) soft-ped·alled, soft-ped·al·ling.

1. to soften the sound of by using the soft pedal.
2. Informal. to tone or play down; make less strong, as an idea or fact:

   The dean soft-pedaled the reports of cheating.

soft-pedal

verb

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

noun

1. 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 Compare sustaining pedal piano 1

Word History and Origins

Origin of soft pedal¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Origin of soft pedal²

First recorded in 1915–20; v. use of noun phrase soft pedal

Idioms and Phrases

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]

Example Sentences

“For local politicians, it’s a pretty easy call when 60, 70, 80% of their county voted ‘no’ on the issue, to soft pedal it and not treat it like a serious crime,” he said.

From Seattle Times

The Republicans needed to employ "hard-hitting kind of spots with a man's voice, no soft pedal" that would tar Democrats as the party that would tax working people, according to a story in Politico.

From Salon

His 1988 album for Eno’s Opal Records, “The White Arcades,” was powered by Budd’s “soft pedal” piano technique, which employed one of the instrument’s foot pedals to “soften” the notes while subtly changing their tones.

From Los Angeles Times

“They were like, ‘Don’t just soft pedal this.

From Los Angeles Times

I thought that later I might also play the piano, something quiet, using the soft pedal.

From Literature