take the sting out of

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Lessen the severity or unpleasantness of something, as in That senior citizen discount took the sting out of the airfares. [Mid-1800s]

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

Words nearby take the sting out of

Really, is it any wonder that fluoride should freak people out?
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
For a while yoga and pilates classes were sought out at luxury gyms like Equinox.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
On Thursday, Garcetti ruled himself out of the race to succeed Boxer.
The Golden State Preps for the ‘Red Wedding’ of Senate Races|David Freedlander|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Yet this, in the end, is a book from which one emerges sad, gloomy, disenchanted, at least if we agree to take it seriously.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST

France 24 is providing live, round-the-clock coverage of both scenes as they progress.
LIVE Coverage of the Paris Terror Attacks||January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And he was gone, and out of sight on the swift galloping Benito, before Father Gaspara bethought himself.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
Most of the men leaped up, caught hold of spears or knives, and rushed out.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
Liszt looked at it, and to her fright and dismay cried out in a fit of impatience, "No, I won't hear it!"
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
The most High hath created medicines out of the earth, and a wise man will not abhor them.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
Squinty could look out, but the slats were as close together as those in a chicken coop, and the little pig could not get out.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum