Definition of "soft pedal" [soft pedal]

• A pedal used to mute tone, as on a piano. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Because one time the soft pedal went all queer because Cissie Dewry put her foot on it, so we always use it gentle-like."