soft pedal

soft pedal — noun

IPA/ˈsɒft pedl/
IPA/ˈsɔːft pedl/

1. A piano's leftmost foot pedal, pressed to lower the volume of notes by moving th

1.nounB2
Definition

A piano's leftmost foot pedal, pressed to lower the volume of notes by moving the hammers nearer to the strings.

Example

Ilan pressed the soft pedal while playing the quiet middle section of the Beethoven sonata.

collocation: press the soft pedal

Jiwoo asked how the soft pedal on an upright differs from one on a grand piano.

collocation: soft pedal on [type of piano]

Common collocations
  • press the soft pedal
  • use the soft pedal
  • release the soft pedal
  • soft pedal on a grand piano
Synonyms

Usage Note

The soft pedal is the leftmost of the three pedals on a standard piano. On a grand piano it is technically called the una corda pedal.

soft pedal — verb

IPA/ˌsɒftˈped.əl/
IPA/ˈsɑːftˌped.əl/

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four expressions mean making something seem less important or serious, but they differ in formality and connotation. 'Downplay' is the most common and neutral — a manager can downplay risks without being dishonest. 'Understate' is more formal and deliberate; a scientist might understate a finding for caution. 'Play down' is the conversational phrasal-verb equivalent of downplay. 'Gloss over' carries a more negative tone — it suggests skipping past unpleasant details rather than just reducing their weight. For example, a politician might downplay a scandal by citing other achievements, but if the same politician glosses over the scandal entirely, listeners would feel misled.

downplayunderstate ↗play down ↗gloss over ↗

Etymology

English

The noun 'soft pedal' comes directly from piano design — the left pedal that literally makes the sound softer. By the early 1900s, English speakers began using it as a verb metaphorically: to 'put the soft pedal on' something meant to dampen its force or importance, just as the pedal dampens the piano's sound. Over time the phrase shortened to the verb 'soft-pedal'.