soft soap

¹

noun

1. Informal.,  persuasive talk; flattery.

   to use soft soap to get one's way.

2. the semifluid soap produced when potassium hydroxide is used in the saponification of a fat or an oil.

soft-soap

²

[sawft-sohp, soft-]

verb (used with object)

1. Informal.,  to cajole; flatter.

2. to apply soft soap to.

verb (used without object)

1. to use soft soap in washing.

soft soap

noun

1. med another name for green soap

2. informal,  flattering, persuasive, or cajoling talk

verb

1. informal,  to use such talk on (a person)

soft soap

1. Flattery: “Mary asked the boss to stop giving her a lot of soft soap about her performance and to start leveling with her like any other employee.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of soft soap¹

First recorded in 1625–35

Origin of soft soap²

First recorded in 1820–30

Idioms and Phrases

Flattery, cajolery, as in She's only six but she's learned how to get her way with soft soap. This colloquial expression alludes to liquid soap, likening its slippery quality to insincere flattery. Its figurative use was first recorded in 1830.