sugar coat
Make more palatable
To sugar coat something is to make it more palatable or acceptable, typically by presenting unpleasant information in a gentler way: Don't sugar coat it—just tell me the truth.
The image comes from coating bitter medicine with sugar to make it easier to swallow.
Usually hyphenated as sugar-coat when used as a verb.
- sweetenAdd sugar to
- sweet-talkFlatter to persuade
- downplayDiminish perceived importance
- euphemizeExpress harshly indirectly
- gloss overMinimize or conceal flaws
disguise · dress up · soften · soften the blow · take the edge off · enrobe · embellish · romanticize · glaze · candy · palliate · sanitize · smooth over · mask · mitigate · paper over · confection · obscure
- food idiomspiece of cake, bread winner, low-hanging fruit, cool as a cucumber, bad egg
- glycobiologyN-acetylglucosamine, N-glycan, deglycosylation, glycosyltransferases, UDP-glucose
sugar coattell it like it is
Speak with complete candor
lay it on the line · speak plainly · not mince words · call a spade a spade · pull no punches
sugar coatrub it in
Emphasize someone's mistake cruelly
twist the knife · let someone have it · rub someone's nose in it · hammer home · devastate