pour oil on troubled waters

Cultural  

1. To calm a disturbance: “His ideas caused real dissension within the party at first, but he poured oil on troubled waters in last night's speech.”

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pour oil on troubled waters Idioms  

1. Soothe or calm down something or someone, as in The twins are quarreling so I'd best go pour oil on troubled waters. This term alludes to an ancient practice of pouring oil on ocean waves to calm their turbulence, which was mentioned in the eighth century. [Mid-1800s]

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In ancient times, oil was often poured on ocean waves to calm turbulence, a practice that would be denounced today.

Example Sentences

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pour oil on troubled waters

US special envoy on climate change, John Kerry, went out of his way to pour oil on troubled waters when speaking at the IEA event.

From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2021

What can I do to pour oil on troubled waters?

From The Outdoor Girls in Florida Or, Wintering in the Sunny South by Laura Lee Hope

Sarah looked threatening, so Hugh hastened to "pour oil on troubled waters."

From The Chums of Scranton High Hugh Morgan's Uphill Fight by Donald Ferguson

This of course roused the English officers, and we had to pour oil on troubled waters.

From My Life in Many States and in Foreign Lands Dictated in My Seventy-Fourth Year by George Francis Train

When the teacher's cup was again filled with tea, she stirred it longer than usual, thinking, possibly, how she could pour oil on troubled waters.

From The Angel of the Gila: A Tale of Arizona by Cora Marsland