| 释义 |
let (one) down gentlyTo deliver bad news to someone in the kindest or least upsetting way possible. When you tell Ed that somebody already asked you to the dance, please let him down gently. I tried to let Susan down gently, but she burst into tears nonetheless. let someone down gently seek to give someone bad news in a way that avoids causing them too much distress or humiliation.ˌeasy/ˌgently/ˌslowly ˈdoes it (informal) used for telling somebody to be careful, calm, etc: Easy does it! Just lift it a little bit and I think it’ll go through the door.break it (to someone) gently, toTo reveal bad news in a calm, soothing fashion. “With a design to break the matter gently to his partners,” wrote John Arbuthnot in 1712. In time the verb to break in the sense of “to tell” incorporated the idea of “gently,” making the cliché a tautology. |