smooth things over — To resolve a disagreement or conflict and make a difficult situation calm and peaceful again
Part of speech: VERB
Definition: To resolve a disagreement or conflict and make a difficult situation calm and peaceful again
Pronunciation (IPA): /smuːð ˈθɪŋz ˈoʊvər/
Example Sentences
- My roommate ate my last piece of pizza, but he bought me a whole new one to smooth things over.
- The manager stepped in to smooth things over after the two employees had a loud disagreement.
- I accidentally called my girlfriend by my ex's name, so I bought flowers to smooth things over.
smooth things over
VERB[/smuːð ˈθɪŋz ˈoʊvər/]
To resolve a disagreement or conflict and make a difficult situation calm and peaceful again
After the argument, she smooths things over with a warm apology and coffee.
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
From Old English 'smoð' (smooth) and 'ofer' (over); the image of smoothing out a rough surface was extended metaphorically to smoothing out rough relationships or conflicts.
Breakdown
smooth (make even/calm) + things (matters/problems) + over (completely, thoroughly)
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“My roommate ate my last piece of pizza, but he bought me a whole new one to smooth things over.”
“The manager stepped in to smooth things over after the two employees had a loud disagreement.”
“I accidentally called my girlfriend by my ex's name, so I bought flowers to smooth things over.”
“Diplomats worked all night to smooth things over between the two countries.”
📚Related Words
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