Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

soft spot

American  

noun

  1. a weak or vulnerable position, place, condition, etc..

    a soft spot in their fortifications; a soft spot in the economy.

  2. emotional susceptibility.

    a soft spot for dogs and babies.
soft spot British  

noun

  1. a sentimental fondness (esp in the phrase have a soft spot for )

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
soft spot Idioms  

  1. A weak or vulnerable point, as in That's the soft spot in his argument . [Mid-1900s]

  2. have a soft spot for . Have a tender or sentimental feeling for, as in Grandpa had a soft spot for Brian, his first grandson . This expression, first recorded in 1753 as “a soft place in one's heart,” uses soft in the sense of “tender.”

Etymology

Origin of soft spot

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.