kid glove strategy
- noun
- /kɪd ɡlʌv ˈstrætədʒi/
- Informal
:
estrategia de guante de seda
- She recommended a kid glove strategy when talking to upset clients.
Examples
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The school adopted a kid glove strategy in addressing the student's concerns.
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In negotiations, a kid glove strategy sometimes achieves better results than open confrontation.
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Use a kid glove strategy!
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The kid glove strategy works.
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In negotiations, a kid glove strategy sometimes achieves better results than open confrontation.
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She recommended a kid glove strategy when talking to upset clients.
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The school adopted a kid glove strategy in addressing the student's concerns.
Synonyms
1
3.7
A gentle way of touching or handling people and objects
To deal with a sensitive problem very carefully to avoid making things worse
Very gentle treatment to avoid harm or upset
Antonyms
How Gentle
- Informal
24
5.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally refers to a glove made of soft 'kid' leather, so combining 'kid' (soft leather) + 'glove' + 'strategy' yields the idea of handling something gently; there is a clear literal-to-figurative mapping. However, the meaning relies on a conventional metaphorical extension (soft glove → gentle treatment) and requires that learners know the less common sense of 'kid' as a type of leather, so the sense is only partially predictable.
Etymology
The phrase kid glove strategy comes from soft kid gloves made from young goat skin, which people used to wear to handle fragile or important things without damage. So a kid glove strategy means treating someone or a problem very 'gently and carefully'.