velvet glove

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“We’ve got to a point where we can no longer be able to afford the velvet glove diplomacy.”

From Seattle Times • Sep. 16, 2023

Still, within the velvet glove remains an iron fist.

From New York Times • Jan. 13, 2022

A Republican colleague, Rep. E. Clay Shaw Jr., once told the Herald that Ms. Meek had “a velvet glove, but sometimes she can have a fist in it. She’s so likable that it’s sometimes disarming.”

From Washington Post • Nov. 29, 2021

After leading with McBride’s iron fist, a union insider said, the group intends to follow up with the velvet glove of more moderate board members.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2020

"Oh," said she with a shiver, "as a little girl I went into the hands of a receiver at least once a month——" "A hand of iron in a velvet glove," murmured Mr. Hemingway.

From It, and Other Stories by Morris, Gouverneur