soft pedal
soft pedal — 名詞
1. A piano's leftmost foot pedal, pressed to lower the volume of notes by moving th
弱音踏板
鋼琴左側踏板，按下可使聲音變小
A piano's leftmost foot pedal, pressed to lower the volume of notes by moving the hammers nearer to the strings.
Ilan pressed the soft pedal while playing the quiet middle section of the Beethoven sonata.
Ilan 在彈奏貝多芬奏鳴曲的寧靜中段時踩下了弱音踏板。
collocation: press the soft pedal
Jiwoo asked how the soft pedal on an upright differs from one on a grand piano.
Jiwoo 問直立鋼琴的弱音踏板和平臺鋼琴的弱音踏板有什麼不同。
collocation: soft pedal on [type of piano]
The soft pedal was broken backstage, so a technician fixed it before the evening recital.
後臺鋼琴的弱音踏板壞了，所以技師在晚間音樂會前把它修好了。
Trang always uses the soft pedal when she practises Chopin's nocturnes late at night.
Trang 深夜練習蕭邦夜曲時，總是會使用弱音踏板。
collocation: use the soft pedal
Luca showed his sister how pressing the soft pedal makes the notes come out gentler.
Luca 向妹妹示範，按下弱音踏板會讓音符聽起來更柔和。
- press the soft pedal
- use the soft pedal
- release the soft pedal
- soft pedal on a grand piano
- una corda pedal
the technical name on a grand piano; more formal and precise
- quiet pedal
informal term, used mainly by non-musicians
用法筆記
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 — 動詞
- soft pedalpresent simple I / you / we / they
- softs pedal3rd person singular
- softing pedal-ing form
- softed pedalpast simple
1. To treat or describe a negative situation, mistake, or problem in a way that mak
輕描淡寫
刻意淡化問題或壞事的嚴重性
To treat or describe a negative situation, mistake, or problem in a way that makes it appear less serious or damaging than it actually is.
The factory manager soft-pedalled the safety problems during the official government inspection.
工廠經理在官方檢查期間對安全問題輕描淡寫。
soft-pedal + problem / issue — common pattern
Arjun refused to soft-pedal the financial risks when he presented the plan to the investors.
Arjun 向投資者簡報時拒絕輕描淡寫財務風險。
soft-pedal + risk / danger
Tomás's mother did not soft-pedal her anger when she saw the broken kitchen window.
Tomás 的母親看到廚房窗戶被打破時，並沒有淡化她的怒氣。
soft-pedal + emotion (anger, disappointment)
The mayor's office tried to soft-pedal the budget shortfall just before the local election.
市長辦公室試圖在地方選舉前淡化預算短缺的問題。
Jude thought the news article soft-pedalled the true extent of the flooding in the neighbourhood.
Jude 認為那篇新聞報導輕描淡寫了社區淹水的真實嚴重程度。
- soft-pedal a problem
- soft-pedal the risks
- soft-pedal a scandal
- soft-pedal the extent of damage
- downplay
the most common synonym; slightly more informal and widely used in everyday speech
- understate
more formal; often implies deliberate restraint rather than deception
- play down
phrasal verb; more informal and conversational
- gloss over
suggests hiding or ignoring negative aspects rather than just reducing their importance
- emphasise
to give special importance or attention to something
- exaggerate
to make something seem larger, more important, or more serious than it really is
文法句型
soft-pedal + noun phrase (problem, risk, scandal)
用法筆記
Often hyphenated as 'soft-pedal' in verb form. Common in journalism, business, and political contexts to describe an attempt to hide or minimise the seriousness of a problem.