softsoap
Flatter to persuade
Soft soap is flattery or smooth talk intended to persuade or manipulate: Don't try to soft-soap me into agreeing.
The verb soft-soap means to use such persuasion.
The term comes from the literal soft soap—a semifluid soap made with potassium hydroxide rather than sodium hydroxide—which has a slippery, unctuous quality that became associated with slick persuasion.
Extravagant, servile praise
- blandishmentsFlattering speech to persuade
- sweet-talkFlatter to persuade
- butteringSpreading soft dairy fat
- sycophancyObsequious behavior toward authority
fawning · overpraise · honeyed · schmooze · apple-polishing · bootlicking · ingratiation · toadyism
Excessively and insincerely earnest
- smarmyInsincerely ingratiating
- oleaginousUnpleasantly ingratiating or greasy
- disingenuousFeigning ignorance or innocence
- insincereFeigning belief or feeling
glib · slick · oily · duplicitous · two-faced · mealy-mouthed · smooth-tongued · silver-tongued
Excessive insincere flattery
- obsequiousServilely attentive to superiors
- sycophanticServilely flattering
- toadyingObsequious behavior seeking favor
- grovelingDemeaning self-abasement before another
bootlicking · subservient · servile · deferential · kowtowing · cringing · slavish · prostrating
adulation
Extravagant, servile praise
- blandishmentsFlattering speech to persuade
- sweet-talkFlatter to persuade
- butteringSpreading soft dairy fat
sycophancy · fawning · overpraise · honeyed · schmooze · apple-polishing · bootlicking · ingratiation · toadyism · smarm
unctuous
Excessively and insincerely earnest
- smarmyInsincerely ingratiating
- oleaginousUnpleasantly ingratiating or greasy
- disingenuousFeigning ignorance or innocence
insincere · glib · slick · oily · duplicitous · two-faced · mealy-mouthed · smooth-tongued · silver-tongued · honey-tongued
fawning
Excessive insincere flattery
- obsequiousServilely attentive to superiors
- sycophanticServilely flattering
- toadyingObsequious behavior seeking favor
groveling · bootlicking · subservient · servile · deferential · kowtowing · cringing · slavish · prostrating · genuflecting
cajole
Persuade through flattery
sweet-talk · smooth-talk · persuade · charm · seduce · inveigle · entice · lure · prevail · sway
lather
Foamy soap bubbles
moisturizing · gentle · mild · creamy · foaming · antibacterial · dispenser · bathroom · sink
softsoapstraight talk
Honest, direct communication
bluntness · candor · brutal honesty · tell it like it is · hard truths
softsoapberate
Criticize severely and lengthily
lambaste · browbeat · chew out · rake over the coals · give someone an earful
soft, soap, soapy, soapbox, soapsuds, soapiness, soapless, soft-soap