smooth over

English

Verb

smooth over (third-person singular simple present smooths over, present participle smoothing over, simple past and past participle smoothed over)

1. (transitive) To make (a rough surface) smooth
2. (transitive) To pacify (e.g. rumours)
   • 1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC:

     Then, as usual, the sheep broke into "Four legs good, two legs bad!" and the momentary awkwardness was smoothed over.

   • 1982 August 14, Ian Daniels, “Nazis In Chicago”, in Gay Community News, volume 10, number 5, page 5:

     A revolution would allow people to be who they really are: controlling their own appearance, work sexuality; their own lives. A revolution means consciously confronting the bigotry that divides us—not smoothing it over and hoping it will go away.

Anagrams

• oversmooth