soft touch

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English

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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soft touch (plural soft touches)

  1. (idiomatic) A person or group that is sympathetic, accommodating, easily overcome, or easily persuaded, especially one that loans or readily gives money to another.
    • 1931 August 15, Roscoe McGowen, “Baseball: Cards, in farewell, upset Robins, 9-3”, in New York Times, page 11:
      But Fred Heimach, who batted for Quinn in the Brooklyn half and fanned, proved a soft touch for the Cardinals in the ninth.
    • 2004, Jeanette Windle, Firestorm, →ISBN, page 55:
      She was a soft touch for anyone with a genuine need.
    • 2008 December 8, “Get tough on border security, oppn”, in Sky News, Australia, retrieved 8 December 2008:
      The federal opposition says people smugglers now see Australia as a soft touch on border security.
  2. (idiomatic) A comfortable situation; an easy task or undemanding occupation, especially one which is comfortably remunerative.
    • 1939, T. Mitchell, “The ‘Soft Touch’ in Teaching”, in Washington Education, volume 71, number 1, page 28:
      Many people, not in the teaching profession, have the mistaken idea that teaching is a "soft touch."
    • 1998, James Herriot, All Creatures Great and Small, →ISBN, page 266:
      I finally abandoned any lingering illusions I had had that Ministry work was a soft touch.

Synonyms

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