Smooth over means to ease a disagreement or an awkward moment so people can get along again. The most common form is smooth things over: a short call helped smooth things over. Usually it means the tension is gone, while the problem itself may still be there.
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smooth over a disagreement; smooth things over; smooth it over
- A brief apology helped smooth things over.
- The chair tried to smooth over the disagreement about seating.
- We spoke privately to smooth the misunderstanding over.
What changed
First versionI tried to smooth over it with an apology.
RevisionI tried to smooth it over with an apology.
We say fix it or settle it, with the pronoun at the end, so smooth over it seems natural. But a short pronoun goes between the two parts: smooth it over. Things in smooth things over means the whole situation, not objects.
Solve means deal with the actual problem. Smooth over means remove the tension, without necessarily solving anything. Calm down is about a person: calm him down, while smooth over is about a situation.
Your turn
Choose the correct pronoun position: The remark upset them, but she managed to ___.
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smooth it over — In smooth over, the pronoun it goes between the two parts: smooth it over.
Describe a small misunderstanding and how it was smoothed over.
A short call helped smooth over the misunderstanding about the invitation.
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