English Explanatory Dictionary

pour oil on troubled waters

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To calm, appease or quiet a person or situation.

Pronunciation

En-au-pour oil on troubled waters.ogg

Word forms

pour oil on troubled waters pours oil on troubled waters pouring oil on troubled waters poured oil on troubled waters

Etymology

From the ancient practice of pouring oil on the seawaves in order to calm them.

Synonyms

cast oil on troubled waters

Antonyms

add fuel to the fire

Related words

clear the air
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on P Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary