🧼 Soft Soap: The Slippery Slope of Flattery 🎩
Flattery has the treacherous tendency of feeling as pleasant and greasy as soft soap. Historically, this analogy has been used to underscore the slithery nature of giving excessive compliments for selfish ends. As John Neal put it in “John Beedle’s Sleigh Ride” circa 1840, “To see them flattering and soft soaping me all over.”
Synonyms & Related Phrases
- Sweet-talk: Melodious words with ulterior motives.
- Butter up: To flatter someone for personal gain.
- Kissing up: Making unctuous, exaggerated efforts to please.
- Honeyed words: Describing words doused in sugar yet potentially hollow.
Nearly-Extinct Expressions
- Soft sawder: An old-timey cousin of “soft soap,” this term described a material used for soldering, likened to persuasive words used to ‘mend’ or ‘join’ oneself favorably to another.
Inspirational Quotes Regarding Flattery
- “The only difference between a rut and a grave is their dimensions.” – Ellen Glasgow
- “Flattery is like cheap perfume—it is more often smelt than sensed.” – Oscar Wilde (with tongue planted firmly in cheek)
Recommended Literature & Media to Dive Deeper
📚 Books:
- The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (Wilde’s characters often grapple with superficial charm and flattery).
- Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (A critical examination of society’s sycophantic behaviors).
🎶 Songs:
- You’re So Vain by Carly Simon (An anthem that could be about exaggerated self-importance and the dangers of believing one’s own hype).
- Kiss Up and Shut Me by Madina Lake (Depicting manipulation and flattery in modern society).
🎥 Movies:
- The Great Gatsby (2000, based on Fitzgerald’s novel): Gatsby’s parties and social interactions are a goldmine of both sincere admiration and insincere flattery.
- Legally Blonde (2001): Elle Woods’ journey reveals sincerities and insincerities in Ivy League environments.
Quizzes to Tickle Your Brain
### What does "soft soap" metaphorically mean?
- [x] Excessive flattery for personal gain
- [ ] Detergent used for heavy-duty cleaning
- [ ] A type of deceptive negotiation
- [ ] Rare soldering material from the past
> **Explanation:** "Soft soap" refers to gorgeous flattery used with slick, greasy intent—echoing the unctuous substance that shares its name.
### Which phrase is related to "soft soap"?
- [ ] Hard butter
- [ ] Apple polisher
- [x] Butter up
- [ ] Silver lining
> **Explanation:** "Butter up" is a direct cousin to "soft soap," both meaning to flatter excessively.
### True or False: "Soft sawder" is an obsolete term for flattery or deception.
- [x] True
- [ ] False
> **Explanation:** Formerly used in the same way as "soft soap," "soft sawder" has all but disappeared from contemporary vocabulary.
Farewell Thought:
As you navigate the slippery terrain of flattery in life, remember: sincerity truly shines above even the slipperiest of surface-level soapiness.
Yours linguistically, Evelyn Knowsalot
