to sing small

8.8

Act modestly by saying little about your talents

phrasal verb

Informal

: ser modesto

He always sings small about his accomplishments.

Examples

Instead of showing off, he decided to sing small during the meeting.
During the presentation, she chose to sing small and let her work speak for itself.
Don't sing small—take pride in what you've achieved!
She always sing small about her accomplishments, even though she is very talented.
Don't sing small!
Don't sing small—celebrate your talents instead!
He tends to sing small about his skills, even though he is very capable.

Synonyms

to whisper

vsto sing small

586 1.0

To speak very quietly using only breath so one person can hear

focuses on modest claims about talent rather than mere soft speech

to play small

vsto sing small

1 7.7

To act with less confidence or ambition than you can

downplays abilities verbally instead of reducing goals

Antonyms

to brag

191 2.7

To talk in a proud way about yourself or what you have

to boast

96 3.1

To talk proudly about your achievements to impress people

How Modest

to sing small

Informal

8.8

to downplay

59 5.3

to brag

191 2.7

Surface Forms

sing small infinitive

singing small present participle

sings small third person singular

sang small past

sung small past participle

Morphology

sing + small

The literal meanings of 'sing' (produce vocal sound) and 'small' (soft/limited) give a plausible clue — 'sing quietly' — which partially maps onto 'speak modestly' or downplay oneself. However, the idiomatic extension to deliberately understating one’s abilities is a figurative pragmantic shift that a B1 learner who only knows the words would not reliably predict without prior exposure.

Etymology

Sing small likely comes from the image of a singer who intentionally sings very quietly: the verb sing and the word small create a picture of a low voice that does not call attention. So, it came to mean 'to behave modestly' or to speak quietly about your abilities.