sugar coating
Candy shell exterior
Sugar coating is a sweet outer layer applied to pills, candy, or other items to make them more palatable.
Figuratively, to sugar-coat something is to make it seem more pleasant or acceptable than it really is: Don't sugar-coat it—just tell me the truth.
The noun form describes this softening: His criticism came with a lot of sugar coating.
- frostingSweet cake covering
- whitewashConceal or coat pale
- glazeThin lustrous coating
- palliateReduce severity, not cause
- sweetTasting of sugar
euphemism · white lie · gloss · candied · honeying · veneer · soft-pedaling · coat · spin doctor · putting lipstick on a pig · cosmeticize · gilding the lily · rose-colored · rose-tinted glasses · silver lining · icing · confection · easy to swallow
- Pharmaceuticscapsules, tablets, tableting, coatings, controlled release
- tablet coatingssubcoating, topcoat, seal coat
- candied confectionscandied fruit, candied peel
- confectionerycandy, sweets, fudge, caramel, nougat
- excusesexcuse, not my fault, overslept, alibi, excuses
- candied treatscandied fruit, candied nuts, crystallized ginger, candied peel
sugar coatingbrutal honesty
Unsparing directness in speech
bluntness · straight talk · telling it like it is · candor · frankness
sugar coatingharshness
Unsparing quality or manner
cruelty · ruthlessness · insensitivity · tactlessness · callousness
sugar coatingunvarnished truth
Reality stated without softening
naked truth · bare facts · warts and all · hard truth · harsh reality