kid glove

American  

noun

1. a glove made of kid leather.

---

idioms

1. handle with kid gloves, to treat with extreme tact or gentleness.

   He's upset, so handle him with kid gloves today.

kid glove British  

noun

1. a glove made of kidskin

2. to treat with great tact or caution

---

adjective

1. overdelicate or overrefined

2. diplomatic; tactful

   a kidglove approach

Etymology

Origin of kid glove

First recorded in 1705–15

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

kid glove

I wonder if that's a kid glove, "You're a very special poodle" thing that they tell actors to sedate them when they enter a job.

From Salon ● May 2, 2023

From what we witnessed of the kid glove treatment he received this week, the man ain't lying.

From Salon ● Jan. 13, 2023

Relentlessly confrontational, Hartley seemed more iron fist than kid glove.

From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2022

Thick coarse white hair fell over his forehead and his skin was leathery but pale, yellowish-white like an old wrinkled-up kid glove.

From The New Yorker ● Oct. 14, 2013

"Come, don't look so glum," she said encouragingly, stroking his chin with her fore-finger, and disclosing a hole in her shabby kid glove.

From The Son of His Mother by Viebig, Clara