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soft pedal

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a pedal used to soften or dampen the tone of a piano or any of certain other musical instruments

transitive verb soft-pedaled or soft-pedalled, soft-pedaling or soft-pedalling

to soften or dampen the tone of (a musical instrument) by use of a special pedal
Informal to make less emphatic, less obtrusive, less conspicuous, etc.; tone down; play down

See soft pedal in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

A pedal used to mute tone, as on a piano.

transitive verb soft-ped·aled or soft-ped·alled, soft-ped·al·ing or soft-ped·al·ling, soft-ped·als

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

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