softy at heart
- idiom
- Informal
:
blando de corazón
- Despite his gruff exterior, Jack is a softy at heart who donates to charity every month.
Examples
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Everyone thought Maria was strict, but she proved to be a softy at heart when she adopted the stray cat.
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He's a real softy at heart!
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Although he acts stern at work, he's really a softy at heart.
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Don't let his tough exterior fool you; he's a softy at heart!
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Even though he seems tough, he's a real softy at heart who cares deeply about his friends.
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She may act tough, but she's a softy at heart, always helping those in need.
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John talks big, but those who know him well understand that he is a softy at heart.
Synonyms
14
5.8
A person who shows strong feelings and is easily moved
7
6.8
A person who shows strong feelings easily and is not tough
Antonyms
How Kind
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from the parts: 'softy' (a person lacking toughness) combined with the construction 'at heart' (meaning 'in one's core/inner feelings') yields 'inwardly gentle/kind.' The '... at heart' pattern is a common, compositional English schema (and paralleled in many languages), so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Softy at heart creates a clear picture of someone who looks tough on the outside but is soft inside. The word softy means a gentle person and heart means 'inside' or 'deep down', so the phrase means 'really kind and gentle' even when the person seems strict.