to cushion the blow
1cushion the blow — Ⅰ. cushion the blow ► to make a bad situation less severe: »Earnings expectations are worsening, but interest rates are not expected to fall to cushion the blow. Main Entry: ↑cushion Ⅱ. soften/cushion the blow ► to make the bad effects of… …
2cushion the blow — cushion/soften the blow to make a difficult experience less unpleasant. Free street parking is to be abolished, but residents are being offered reduced price parking permits in an attempt to cushion the blow …
3cushion the blow — to do something that reduces harm. The way to cushion the blow is to raise prices slowly, not all at once. Etymology: from the idea of making the force of one thing hitting another less damaging by surrounding it with something soft …
4cushion the blow — 1) to reduce the bad effects of something Tax cuts were brought in to cushion the blow of the price rises. 2) to reduce the effect of a fall or hit …
5soften/cushion the blow — ► to make the bad effects of something seem to be not as bad as they could have been: »If things go wrong there are no mechanisms to soften the blow. Main Entry: ↑blow …
6cushion the blow — …
7soften the blow — cushion/soften the blow to make a difficult experience less unpleasant. Free street parking is to be abolished, but residents are being offered reduced price parking permits in an attempt to cushion the blow …
8soften the blow — soften the blow/impact/effect/ phrase to make something unpleasant seem less severe He tried to soften the blow by telling her himself. Thesaurus: to reduce, or to remove the bad effects of somethingsynonym Main entry …
9soften the blow — soften/cushion the blow ► to make the bad effects of something seem to be not as bad as they could have been: »If things go wrong there are no mechanisms to soften the blow. Main Entry: ↑blow …
10blow — [bləʊ ǁ bloʊ] verb blew PASTTENSE [bluː] blown PASTPART [bləʊn ǁ bloʊn] [transitive] 1. informal if you blow money on something, you spend a lot of money on it, often money that you cannot afford: • He blew his wages on a new stereo …
