🧤 Kid Gloves: Handling Delicacy and Decorum 🧤
Definition:
Kid Gloves: To deal with very gently or carefully. This term, dating from the nineteenth century, is an elaboration of the slightly earlier term to handle without gloves, meaning to treat harshly. Gloves made of kidskin, from the hide of a young goat, were known from the early eighteenth century on and were considered elegant finery, whence the transfer to delicate treatment.
Related Terms & Synonyms:
- Soft-Pedal: Approach gently rather than aggressively.
- Coddle: Treat with an excessive amount of care or kindness.
- Mollycoddle: Lavish very gentle care on someone; pamper.
Similar Idioms & Expressions:
- With Velvet Gloves: Treating someone with care or delicacy.
- Handle with Care: Literally and figuratively treating with caution and gentleness.
- Bend Over Backwards: Make a great effort to accommodate someone, often at the expense of one’s own comfort.
Antonyms:
- With Fists Raised: Confronting aggressively rather than gently.
- Handle with Iron Fist: Treat harshly and without delicacy.
- Tough Love: Practicing stern discipline with the intent of compassion.
Humor-Filled Quotes:
- “He handles his problems with kid gloves and his ex’s calls with oven mitts.”
- “You’ve got to be kidding me if you expect me to handle that with kid gloves!”
Proverbs & Three-Kidskin-Words:
- “Soft words turn away wrath.” Sometimes gentle communication achieves the desired outcome more effectively!
Book Recommendations:
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: Observe the elegance and delicate nuances in relationships and social dealings.
- The Art of Diplomacy by Winston Churchill: A fascinating read on handling international relations with finesse.
Song Suggestions:
- With a Little Help from My Friends – The Beatles: Could elicit thoughts on why gentler treatment by friends and family matters so much.
- Take It Easy – The Eagles: An anthem of gently handling life’s troubles.
Films Worth Watching:
- Miss Congeniality: Watch Sandra Bullock gingerly morph from rough FBI agent to graceful pageant queen.
- My Fair Lady: The ultimate tale of transforming gritty reality into delicate decorum.
Farewell Thought:
In the labyrinth of words and phrases, remember to handle your language with (kid) gloves; for words aren’t just spoken fleetingly — they often leave lasting impacts. Choose them wisely.
Happy phrasing!
Eloise Q. Phrases, October 2023
👋✨
Quizzes
### Which of these denotes gentle treatment?
- [x] Kid Gloves
- [ ] Bear Claws
- [ ] Gritty Mitts
- [ ] Iron Fists
> **Explanation:** "Kid Gloves" is an idiom for handling gently, while the others evoke imagery of harsh treatment.
### Which phrase means pampering?
- [ ] Shoe the horse
- [ ] March with drumsticks
- [x] Coddle
- [ ] Hammer nails
> **Explanation:** "Coddle" means to pamper or treat with excessive care. The other options don't match this context.
### True or False: 'Handle with care' is an idiom
- [x] True
- [ ] False
> **Explanation:** Surely true! It's both a literal and figurative phrase meaning to treat gently.
