Definition of "soft-pedal" []

• Music To soften or mute the tone of by depressing the soft pedal. (verb-transitive)
• Informal To make less emphatic or obvious; play down: soft-pedal a potentially explosive issue. (verb-transitive)

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.

• "(This production seems almost at times to soft-pedal the work's hostility toward American institutions; a vigorously up-tempo version of the song slamming flag-worship, "Don't Put It Down," obscures the number's acidic tone.)"
• "The Giants' run game hasn't looked good all year, but it's definitely stalled without Bradshaw, and Coughlin didn't soft-pedal in saying his starting running back's return would be a big spark "for sure.""
• "Chancellor Merkel had said before Wen's arrival that she would not soft-pedal human rights issues despite Germany's desire for increased economic cooperation with China."