old soft shoeとは 意味・読み方・使い方

名詞

soft shoe (uncountable)

1. (performing arts) A kind of tap dancing performed in soft-soled shoes, popular in vaudeville.
   • 1966, "Sunday (TV listings)," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 15 Jan, p. 19, (retrieved 5 Oct. 2008):

     Between Mr. O'Connor and Mr. Newley there's a delightful exhibition of the dances and their origin dating gack a few hundred years, from the clog to the buck, the wing, and the buck and wing, and on to the old soft shoe and more.

2. (idiomatic) A speech, explanation, sales pitch, or other set of remarks delivered in a restrained or conciliatory manner in order to persuade, distract, or otherwise influence someone.
   • 2001, Adam Piore, "Red, White And What A Deal!," Newsweek, 26 Nov.:

     Is the salesman's soft-shoe appropriate in a time of national mourning?

使用する際の注意点

• Often used in the expression "the old soft shoe."

形容詞

soft shoe (not comparable)

1. (usually hyphenated) Of or pertaining to this kind of dancing.
2. (idiomatic) Casual, low-key, easy-going.
   • 1958, "Mellow Man in Charge," Time, 6 Oct.,

     Occasionally criticized for his soft-shoe approach (e.g., he urged the President to avoid a public squabble with Joe McCarthy), Persons nonetheless won many a legislator over to the Administration side.

動詞

to soft shoe

1. To perform a dance of this kind.